Experienced
by suspensegirl
Summary: S1 - CB's sizzling secret affair comes to a sudden halt when Cotillion spirals out of control and ends in disaster. But Blair doesn't sleep with Nate and Chuck doesn't manipulate Carter. Can they recover from the fall-out? Or will Blair give Nate another chance? Does she want to? Was it all just a game? RATED M; CB
1. Abstinence

A/N: Two fics in one night! What do ya know?! ;D Came up with this little smut piece in my Child Development class this last week. In my defense, we're still in the pregnancy unit and there is constantly talk of sperm and hormones. So there. I'm not totally twisted. XD (This takes place during CB's brief affair in season 1 and is DEFINITELY M-rated. You've been warned.)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.1-Abstinence**

She supposed it could be deemed predictable that the administration decided to congregate the students into two separate auditoriums for the sex ed "talk" a week before Cotillion. Though the image of all the staff sitting around discussing when it was most likely the student body would be having sex…did gross her out a little.

Technically the sex talk was still part of their health class, but apparently the school was well known for giving the best one around. Of course by the time most of the students were in their junior year they were already well informed on the ins and outs of sexual intercourse. Thus, they dozed off or skipped, often to make out in the halls secretly, no matter how much the staff tried to prevent such things. The only really valuable part of the whole thing that students actually sat up and took notice for was how to avoid pregnancy. While important, it probably have been more important to take notes on all the diseases that could possibly be contracted and their long and short-term effects.

As previously mentioned though, they weren't. The only thing students seemed to care about in high school regarding sex was making sure babies could be avoided at all costs. It was a scandal to be a pregnant teen, whether you eventually opted to abort or not.

On a normal occasion, Blair would be diligently taking notes, no matter the topic. If she'd been with Nate still – and the whole Serena thing hadn't happened – she probably would have been paying extra close attention, making sure she had all the knowledge for when she finally bestowed him with her special gift.

Well, that dream was shot to hell when she threw her virginity in Chuck Bass's face without a moment's notice.

Not that she really minded at this point. In fact, despite the initial horror it caused her the morning after, the last few weeks had left her feeling pretty invigorated. His calls, his texts, their sneaking around…it was exciting, contagious, and to be quite honest, it wasn't just the thrill of a secret affair that had her glowing and almost never in a bad mood. She was getting addicted to him.

His lewd flattery before they'd hooked up, when she'd been Nate's still – thank god that was over, she'd openly detested but secretly loved. Now she was able to freely appreciate when they were together and he took that as an invitation every time. Despite being quite new to sexual activities, she found herself either feeling completely safe in his arms or actually that she was making some serious progress with all the _practice_ they were doing. Often both.

She couldn't remember ever feeling this happy, or this confident, but actions spoke louder than words in this particular scenario. She couldn't tell Chuck he was getting to her and that her moments with him during the day – and often longer moments during the weekends – were the best ones she was having lately. But she had a feeling he already knew.

She wasn't very good at hiding the smiles on her face or that little skip in her step whenever they walked towards each other – in secret naturally. She had to pretend all was normal and nothing had changed out in the open. But they shared knowing looks, looks that gave her delicious shivers and heated the blood in her veins.

And that was what brought she, Blair Cornelia Waldorf, prim, proper, and the up and coming society princess, suddenly aware that her panties were now damp.

Her eyes widened at the realization and she crossed and uncrossed her legs. That only worsened the situation. Moving against herself in that simple act got her hornier than ever and all she could think about was if Chuck had been doing the touching and not unintentionally herself.

The speaker was starting to get to the gruesome details that had some of the girls blushing and other wrinkling their noses, but all Blair was aware of was the sensations she was feeling and that in addition to her panties moistening further, her nipples had started to harden.

She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to make it less obvious, but it only caused a speculative glance from one of the teachers standing against the wall and Serena, and a minion or two. She ignored the teacher and cast a dirty look at the other two, to which Serena was clearly confused by, so Blair gave up.

She slowly rose from her seat a little and then turned back, half expecting their to be a puddle where she had been sitting. There was none. Thankfully. Once she'd gotten out of the pew, which also thankfully hadn't been all that difficult since she'd been sitting near the end, she walked as quietly and unnoticeably fast as she could manage.

Once just outside the auditorium she breathed a sigh of relief and reached into her purse for her phone. All students had been forced to turn off their mobile devices, but she knew Chuck was never one to listen, and even though she'd been hesitant at them being seen together intimately, in any form whatsoever, she simply could not wait until the end of the day plus a few hours when he could end up in her bedroom with her.

However, just as she'd sent the text, she heard a distinct buzzing noise. She turned and looked to her left and saw him leaning against the wall, smirking as he read her text.

"Chuck?" she whispered.

He lifted his gaze to turn and look at her.

"Did you ditch?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"You _need me now_, huh?" he asked cockily.

She stopped in front of him and swallowed.

"It is quite possible if I don't get some within the next thirty seconds I will come all on my own," she said very seriously.

His eyes widened as his smirk curved into an open grin, almost gaping, but before he could say anything, she'd grabbed his tie and was pulling him down the hallway until they'd turned the corner and were covered in shadow near the janitor's closet.

"My, my, aren't we impatient today…"

"Not now, Bass," she said, starting to undo his belt.

"I thought you were too scared we might get caught at school," he said slyly, grazing his hand along the curves of her face and then drifting lower, cupping one breast. His eyes widened and he lost his breath when his thumb moved over her nipple and found it hard as a rock. "You _are_ ready…" His eyes dilated, watching her body respond to his touch.

She shoved her hand into his pants and gripped his dick tightly. He groaned loudly.

"You have no idea," she whispered into his ear.

In a moment he had spun them around and had her pressed tight against the wall. He was kissing her fiercely, searching out her tongue with his own and finding it, dancing with it, sucking on her neck and then over her clothed breast. She moaned as softly as she could manage as one of her legs traveled up his calf. With one hand she pumped him slowly and with the other she weaved through his hair, tousling it horribly, and then digging her nails into his scalp.

"Damnit, Blair," he murmured, breathing hotly against her neck. "We can't do this out in the open."

She pulled his head back roughly and then gave him a passionate, smoldering kiss, wetting his appetite for so much more. When she finally released him his head reared back and he looked at her with the most flaming, desirous stare she'd ever seen on him. The fact that it was all because of her made her feel even more wanted and sexy than before.

"Now who's hesitant?" she taunted.

"Tell me you want me," he demanded in a lowered voice.

With lidded eyes she leaned forward, elongated her tongue to trace the curves of his lips. She could feel the oxygen being sucked away from him.

"I want you," she breathed, and suddenly his hands were around her waist and he was lifting her up and carrying her across the short side corridor, flinging open the janitor's closet and tossing her inside as he turned to close and lock the door.

"The janitor's closet? Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

He stalked towards her. "How wet are you?" he asked, shoving his hand into her panties even as he asked the question. "Fuck, you're wet."

Her breathing shifted to little short breaths as he moved his fingers over her clit, sensations taking over when his slid his fingers further down into her opening and started to pump her torturously slowly.

"_Chuck_," she gasped, clutching at his shoulders.

"And you're not going to last," he muttered roughly against her.

She shook her head rapidly. "No," she said, gasping again as he lifted her once more and found an empty shelf to place her on with luckily no shelves above it. Once she had adjusted to the feel of cold metal beneath her, he tossed his jacket off, quickly untied his tie and threw it with it to the side and started unzipping his pants.

"Hurry," she urged, curling her legs around his again since he was close enough to reach.

He was breathing heavily. "Going as fast as I can, Waldorf." And his pants were down and his condom was on and he had pushed her legs wider apart to fit himself between them.

Before he took the plunge, he paused and looked at her, went almost lightheaded at the fiery lust he saw in her eyes. He gripped her thighs tightly, pulled her a little closer roughly so that she was almost hanging off the edge of the shelf and had to dig her nails into his skin again, into his shoulders now. He stifled a yelp and thrust into her fast as he covered her mouth with his own.

She moaned and just as quickly as he'd plunged into her, he pulled out, causing another gasp from her. She cried out his name in surprise, but he muffled any further exclamations with another scorching kiss as he thrust again, this time not coming out all the way but quickly speeding up his pace till she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and was clawing at his back.

"Faster, Chuck, _faster_," she panted, coming closer by the second.

Less than five minutes later he had to cover her mouth again to stifle her scream. He came soon after and then pulled back, almost completely pulling out, but she wouldn't let go and pulled him closer again, groaning when it brought his full length into her again.

But she kissed him, his lips, his jaw, down his neck, she nibbled. Across his collarbone beneath his shirt that she told herself she would demand he take off all the way next time instead of just letting it hang open with undone buttons.

When her lips grew tired she brought her head back up and pressed her forehead against his gently as they both regained their breath. It was quiet and intimate and neither said anything until they'd fully recovered.

When he pulled all the way out this time, she let him. He held out his hand to help her down when she almost fell because her legs felt like jelly and she was still wearing her heels.

"You okay?" he asked gently, catching her when her knees went out.

She nodded as he helped her to stand steady and waited until she could move without wobbling.

When his clothes were nearly set to right, she tied his tie and straightened his jacket. Then she fiddled with his hair until it looked nearly as perfect as it had before she'd pulled him down the hall. Then she smiled and he smirked at her, at her little antics and how insistent she was about always needing to fix him up.

"You think you can make it down the hall without looking awkward?" he asked, teasing.

She cocked an eyebrow at him and then moved past to the door. She stopped just before opening it and looked back at him.

"Depends how long it takes me to get hot and bothered again."

He raised his eyebrows but his breath was taken again.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stepped out into the hall just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the sex talk, which truly was useless against their own personal experience. Time would have been wasted in that large auditorium, whereas in the janitor's closet all that good knowledge was put to proper use.

And was quite enjoyable.

Trying to think on other things to avoid getting a boner immediately after sex just watching her hips sway ahead of him, he strode out into the hall after waiting a bit to avoid suspicion and made a mental note to have Arthur speed to the Waldorf's as soon as the final bell rang. The woman intoxicated him and there was no way he would wait longer than necessary after this experience.

…

A/N: That was pretty hot if I do say so myself. Hehe. And you'll be glad to know that these last two oneshots are all that are in my mind at the moment, so hopefully the next fic posted will be an update to a multi-chap. Hope you enjoyed this! Please review! ;)


	2. Curiosity

A/N: Alright, I've been crazy inspired for potential ideas since the initial chapter for this fic. HOWEVER, if you want this story to be stunted until I've worked on some other fics awhile, GO TO MY PROFILE PAGE AND VOTE ON MY POLL. Otherwise, this will be lumped in with the rest and will be updated with the rest whenever I'm inspired, which will be often as of right now. Also, the danger of writing about CB's s1 escapades starting only one week before Cotillion is that it may inevitably become a legit SL, potentially changing the overall events of 1x10 and after… before I get to that potential arc in this story though, my chaps will be based solely on requests I get for where CB could…get it on. I've had one idea myself (which is what this chap is based off) & a handful of ideas from my dear friend, Mary. ;) But if there's a scenario you would like to see, please put it in your review or it may not happen. With that said, I hope you enjoy, and PLEASE go vote on my poll if you'd rather I put this on hold for awhile.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.2—Curiosity**

Chuck moved his sweaty body off of Blair's beside her on her bed. He looked to the end table and spotted a glass of ice cold water. He had just enough energy to reach for it and take a sip.

"Nice touch with the water," he remarked, settling back among the silk sheets.

She smiled a little.

"You didn't notice it when you came in?" she asked coyly.

He turned his head to look at her and the beautiful smirk he was certain she'd caught from him.

"I was preoccupied," he said cockily.

She turned her head to look at him, and if she hadn't still been trying to recover from their _recent activities_, she would have flushed at the look in his eyes. He _wanted_ her. He always did. There was not a moment she caught him looking at her that she did not feel like the most wanted and cherished person alive. It was surreal, being this important to _Chuck Bass_, professional womanizer, poster boy of all womanizing on the planet, in the world. She was certain if aliens did exist even they would find Chuck a serious competitor.

For a moment she tried to visualize the scene. It looked an awful lot like an Old Western duel at dawn. That didn't fit with what the competition was, but she certainly liked what Chuck looked like in cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, leather vest with fringe and a gun in his holster.

Of course that thought led to his _physical_ gun he carried with him everywhere, that was _attached_ to him, and she grew warm. A second later she scolded herself. She couldn't possibly be ready for another round already. She was still trembling from her last climax.

"What?" he smirked knowingly.

She blinked, realizing she'd gotten lost in her thoughts.

"N-nothing." She shook her head, laughing at herself and turning herself to lie on her stomach, half on his chest and setting her chin on top of her hands lying flat with her elbows folded away. "I was just thinking-"

"So was I," he interjected, moving with her so she was underneath him and only the lower half of their bodies was covered by the silk sheets. His arms propped on either side of her head as he looked down at her with a sparkle in his eye, daring her to make the first move.

She blinked again, startled from the abrupt move, but her face smoothed over and she warmed to his touch. She lifted her head ever so slightly so her lips were parted and closer to his, tempting him in the subtle movement.

It was all he needed. He lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips and sinking into her embrace as she wound her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his hair.

"Your hair is so tousled," she murmured, giggling when he pulled back to look at her strangely. She made an effort to straighten out his bangs so they lay across his forehead again, but it was no use. They stuck straight up.

"I made no comment on _your_ appearance," he said.

Her jaw dropped, prepared to defend herself, but he leaned down again and pressed kisses along the graceful length of her neck.

"Because you're _perfect_."

Shivers erupted from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pressed the side of her face against his, thrilling in the intimacy of it and how he didn't pull away.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Bass."

Her smile was ridiculously wide but he was still kissing her neck and now along her collarbone to her shoulder, so she felt it was safe to let the emotion run ramped.

They both knew that the flattery had definitely gotten him somewhere. She was growing restless already. Her ankles wrapped around his calves as she arched up into him when his mouth found the top curve of her breasts.

"_Chuck_."

He didn't smirk or say something perverted, even if it would have suited. He licked her, kissed her, breathed hotly against her skin.

He was lost in her.

Her fingers clenched in his hair and of their own volition, her nails dug into his scalp. He made a muffled sound and kissed his way up to her lips before pulling slightly away.

"What?" she asked dreamily.

"I already have your scratch marks down my back. Must you also violate my head?"

She only dug her nails in deeper. His lighthearted annoyance turned into a smirk and he leaned down again to kiss her passionately, his tongue twisting in her mouth and dancing with hers. She moaned louder when she found his member hardened again and nearing her center. But before they could continue, she braced her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"What?" he asked, slightly annoyed, and not having gotten farther away than propped up on his hands hovering over her.

"I have an idea," she said, her eyes sparkling.

"This better be good, Waldorf," he said, internally promising his hardened rod there would be pay-off.

"It is," she insisted. "I promise."

The glint in her eyes immediately won him over, but he was disgruntled again when she pushed him completely off of her and went for her closet. He did admire the visual of her naked behind though, so all in all it wasn't a bad experience.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused when she pulled out one of her uniform skirts and a pair of red tights. He didn't like clothing that took longer than necessary to take off of her and tights often did. They were bothersome and she usually only wore them when she intended to make out and no further. Either that or to tease him mercilessly. He allowed that the sex was particularly good on those occasions.

"We are going to school," she said matter-of-factly, and quite joyously, he noted.

Now he was beyond confused. He sat up in bed.

"What are you talking about?"

Now he _needed_ an answer.

She finished putting on her bra and panties before returning to him, careful not to touch the bed, or even graze it, because then she would end up falling into it and all would be ruined.

"Remember today in the janitor's closet during that big…abstinence talk?"

His eyes grew heated instantly and a dirty smirk appeared on his face.

"How could I forget?"

His voice was so silky and smooth that she almost forgot what she was going to tell him. Warning bells went off in her head when he took her wrist between his fingers and pressed a kiss to it, gently urging her to come back to bed again. She stepped back once, so he would have to release her and he pouted.

_If only he knew how hard this was…_

She cleared her throat delicately.

"I want to do it again," she said pointedly.

His smirk spread into a grin and the lust in his eyes nearly melted her into a puddle.

"Gladly."

Encouraged, she sat on the edge of the bed, about to divulge her plans.

"But for tonight…" He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her soundly. She allowed the one kiss, but then managed to get free.

His annoyed glare said it all.

_Damn it, Blair. Let me fuck you._

Her returned bossy stare equally spoke her thoughts.

_I will. Just be quiet and patient for a second. Then, you can grab my ass._

"Well?" he demanded, sick of her making him wait.

Her eyes narrowed.

"If you're not careful, Bass, you will not be touching this," she gestured to her body from top to bottom, "for a looong time."

"Wanna bet?" He stood up immediately and stalked towards her, crashing into her, his lips on hers until they were forced to stop by the wall.

His kisses were intoxicating and she found herself unable to stop, especially when his teeth started to nibble on her skin as he moved away from her face.

"_Chuck_," she moaned, her fingers clenched in the hair at the nape of his neck.

"There's my girl," he murmured.

"No, not here…not now…" she whimpered.

"Where, precious? I'll go anywhere with you," he breathed hotly into her ear, nipping and sucking on her ear lobe.

She could not focus on the fluttering in her heart with the words _my girl_ and _anywhere with you_ more than a moment with the way he was touching her. Her body was responding too quickly, her sensations taking over.

"I really need to tell you something," she panted in short little breaths.

"Oh?" he purred.

"It's an urgent request," she insisted, her head falling back as his mouth lowered to suck on her neck and mark her. Her mind was so muddled she didn't even scold him for trying to inflict her with a hickie that might require a colorful scarf for a few days at school.

He smirked against her.

"I think I know what you want," he said, pulling his head back to look at her with smoldering eyes.

"You do?" she asked, breathless, all focus and intelligence gone out the back door.

"Oh yeah," he leaned forward to kiss her lips and then peppered his way back to her neck where he implanted wet kisses. "I know your body better than you do."

Her eyes widened suddenly and her brain waves began to move again. She moved her hands from in the depths of his hair till they were planted on his shoulders and pushed him away again.

He was not pleased.

"_What_?" he spat, eyes narrowed angrily.

"Let's go to school," she said.

"Huh?"

She had clearly lost her mind, he decided.

"Right now. Let's go to the teacher's lounge."

He was so shocked she got away from him and made it to her closet buttoning a simple uniform shirt on her and placing a ruby headband in her hair, applying lip gloss of the same color and shade.

"You want to run that by me again?" he finally managed, fumbling about in the dark until he found his boxers and put them on.

She spun around once she'd examined herself in her full length mirror and was satisfied.

"I want to do it at school. It was…" she paused, contemplating the right word, "thrilling today in the janitor's closet." Her eyes glittered.

"Wouldn't it be more exciting during the day with people…I don't know…just outside the door?" he asked suggestively, finally warming to her suggestion.

She rolled her eyes as he approached her and slipped her arms loosely around his neck again.

"Baby steps, Bass. I don't want to get caught," she said defiantly.

"Don't you trust me?" he remarked, smirk firmly in place.

"You're _Chuck Bass_," she answered, as if that explained everything.

His eyes lit up, still smirking.

"I have to have a back-up plan," she said simply, walking past him to grab his clothes and throw them at him.

"A back-up plan?" he scoffed, even as he put his clothes back on.

She shrugged and headed towards the door.

"It's exciting at night, right? Somewhere we're not supposed to be…?" she teased, ignoring his trust/back-up question that he'd clearly gotten his feathers ruffled over.

"How are we even going to get in?" he demanded.

She sighed and returned to her place in front of him, straightening his jacket and successfully fixing his hair this time like she'd been able to do earlier in the day.

"As you well know, Serena dated the captain of the swim team a few years ago." She finished adjusting his attire to look up at him. "She kept the key he gave her to the pool."

"What good does that do? We're not going to the pool."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop having a hissy fit. The key opens more than just the pool room."

And with that she walked out of the room with Chuck soon enough trailing behind her.

…

The make out in the limo on the way to Constance & St. Judes shifted Chuck's mood considerably by the time they arrived. As predicted, the key to the pool also opened the main entrance and a variety of other rooms, the teacher's lounge included.

Blair absentmindedly set her purse on one of the couches and started to walk slowly throughout the lounge.

"Just think, Bass…every time a teacher, or better yet, the Headmistress, comes through here, they will be sitting on or leaning against or eating where we've had sex," she said cheerfully.

_Table, couch, chair, wall_…were her suggestions, he concluded. _Perhaps the counter top as well._

There was one place she hadn't hinted at though. Someplace everyone would touch at some time or other throughout the day, the week, the _year_.

She gasped when he grabbed her and kissed her, ridding her of her skirt, top and headband, thrilled when he realized that it was only in the dark he thought she'd put on the all encompassing red tights when in actuality she'd only put on the thigh high ones for this venture.

"Oh god, I-" he paused, frozen for a moment by what he'd been about to say – _I love you_ – It would've only been in the moment, excessive gratitude that he wouldn't have to rid her of so much clothing to get to her sweet, soft skin, but it would've ruined everything between them. And he certainly didn't mean those words. He wasn't capable of that kind of emotion. He couldn't mean those words.

Not ever.

"You scared me," he said, breathless before she could question him about the sudden end to his sentence.

"It was my intention," she said knowingly, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck and taking off all the clothing she'd helped to put on him a mere thirty minutes ago.

He chuckled, the near declaration forgotten.

"Tease."

He lifted her up and strode across the short of expanse to plant her against the fridge. She gasped at the cool feel of it first, and then at just what it would mean for them to have sex here. Her eyes were wide when she looked at him, but the confirmation was in his heated stare and she by no means was going to back down now. Not when she'd been so insistent on coming. He had to win at _something_.

She grazed her finger down his face until it reached his full lips. He parted them and she slipped her slim finger inside. He sucked it and swirled his tongue around it. Her eyes closed and her lips parted, breathless even with that one simple touch.

Keeping her braced against the refrigerator, Chuck reached for the condom he'd set on the counter and put it on, pulling her finger out of his mouth and setting her hand over his shoulder. Her nails immediately dug into his skin as their eyes met, flaming in their lust, seeing into their souls.

"_Fuck me_, Chuck," she dared in a whisper.

He grunted and thrust up into her. She cried out and clung to him, wrapping her legs tightly around his hips in an attempt to not fall, even as he held her firmly against the cool appliance. She bit into his shoulder to keep from screaming louder as her nails dug into his back again, leaving marks.

She panted and moaned as he thrust faster, moving his thumb over her most sensitive nubbin to make her come harder and faster than ever before.

In her mind, she imagined throwing herself at Chuck and riding him as he stumbled back onto the floor or a chair, possibly the couch.

But in this moment, she was breathless, exhausted, and so plastered to the fridge she could not move.

She told herself she would please him, and soon. Of her own voilition. The intent being his pleasure alone. She would do it.

But now she screamed, crying out his name, purring it against his neck as his hands finally gripped the top of the fridge to keep both of them from falling.

"You're right," he said in short, panting breaths. "This was a good idea."

She smiled against him.

"Tomorrow you pick," she murmured, kissing the side of his neck and nuzzling into him.

…

A/N: Wow. I did not intend for that first part to be so long. XD Hope you didn't mind! Lol Please review! And again, if you don't want this continued, please go vote on my poll (or even if you do!) & if you want to see a certain scenario, please tell me in your review and maybe I can accommodate! =D

**Mary – yes, all that fussing w/ C's hair was just for you. SO YOU COULD PICTURE IT. ;) **


	3. Literature

A/N: Before you all start complaining about how this isn't an SS update (except a certain someone, you know who you are…), know that I did start writing up the beginning of the next SS chap. My life has just been really chaotic lately, so when I get inspired for something and if on the rare occasion I happen to have free time on my hands, that is what I'm going to write about. Besides, one of my fav reviewers and bestest buddies on twitter has been looking forward to this particular chap for awhile (I must really stop dedicating chaps/fics to you,** Mary – HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY **THOUGH**!**), so this is dedicated to her. Hope you enjoy (all of you!).

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.3—Literature**

She felt a presence approaching her from behind and all the hairs on the nape of her neck lifted. A tingling sensation ran down her back and spread throughout her entire body. She suddenly felt a little weak in the knees and very warm. Her fingers momentarily stilled on the book she was examining on the shelf in front of her.

She knew exactly who was behind her, and she knew well enough that he wouldn't pass her by. If he did, it would only be to instill in her curiosity as to his unusual lack of attention. His stalkerish tendencies had become more evident as of late, most especially because she was now his prime target.

Not that she would give him the time of day at this particular moment. She was mad at him.

"_You have got to be kidding me."_

_His brows furrowed in confusion._

"_What? You said I could pick."_

_She scoffed._

"_I also said I didn't want to get caught," she spat._

"_Class is in session. Nobody's going to catch us. This isn't college. Everyone is in class at the same time."_

_Her eyes narrowed. "I know how high school works."_

"_Well then?" He was starting to get irritated._

"_There is no way I'm doing this!"_

"_Why not?" he demanded, upset now._

"_There are a million reasons, but I'll just list a few, even if you're totally unworthy and should be able to figure it out yourself."_

_He crossed his arms across his chest._

"_One, it will ruin my uniform."_

_He rolled his eyes._

"_Two, it is probably going to hurt."_

_He smirked and leaned in. "You're no virgin, princess," he smarmed._

_She scoffed and pushed him away._

"_I meant the bricks, you perv."_

_His smirk stayed in place but he let her put the distance between them._

"_What else?"_

"_I already told you. We're likely to get caught."_

"_We're not."_

"_How would you know?" But even as the words left her mouth she knew the answer. He'd done this before._

"_I think you know." That ever present smirk remained plastered on his face._

_She huffed._

"_I'm not doing this and that's final." _

_She went to move past him but he caught her arm._

"_Where do you think you're going, Waldorf?"_

_She roughly pulled her arm away, despite the fact that his breath against her skin was starting to melt her insides and weaken her knees._

"_To class," she said, holding her head high as she walked away._

_He watched her in her short little skirt and groaned._

She couldn't _believe_ he'd suggested they have sex in the narrow confines between brick buildings while class was in session. Partly, she was to blame, she allowed. She hadn't given him any rules or limitations as to where their little public rendezvous would take place. Maybe that was reason enough to forgive him. But at the same time, he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't be onboard with that location. The only thing concealing them in the event that she _had_ consented, was the fact that they were far enough down the little alley so as people wouldn't go out of their way to even look down there. And also, as he had pointed out, class was in session. Nobody really had any reason to be outside period, and they couldn't be seen from the streets.

Of course her points had won out, as had her stubbornness. Mostly her stubbornness. She wouldn't let him control her. After all, this _thing_ they had going on between them, whatever it was, was only happening because she was not resisting it anymore. Even now in her boiling-going-on-24-hour fury, she knew she would cave eventually.

As soon as he apologized; which, she realized, was unlikely.

Still, a girl can dream.

When he finally reached the aisle she was in she had regained her senses and was now calmly thumbing through the titles, looking for the book she'd been chosen to find for class. In this moment, she would deny the reason for her choosing this particular title, but deep down – or maybe not so deep – she was well aware that this book would be found in the back of the library in _that_ aisle. She also knew that the normal round of couples that engaged in physical activities back there would be absent during this class period.

Not that she was even thinking of doing _that_. It was disgusting.

She dismissed the fact that other students had probably had sex in the janitor's closet before. That was also a very dirty place. In her defense, her mind had been very lust-clouded at the time. That was not the case this time. She was feeling very level-headed.

Finally, either to get rid of him or to get his full attention, she couldn't decide which, she turned around to address him.

"Do you _mind_?"

Her jaw dropped in embarrassment when she realized there was no one there. She felt very unnerved. Here she thought he'd been watching her, waiting for her to get irritated enough to speak to him and tell him to leave when the reality of it was that he hadn't been there at all the whole time. She'd imagined the entire thing, which could only mean one thing. She'd _wanted_ him to be there. She was sick of being mad at him, and what was worse, she _missed_ him.

She groaned, turning back around to put the book she'd pulled out back in its place when she was brought face to face with a pair of brown eyes looking knowingly at her. She could almost feel the smirk radiating off of him even if she couldn't see it. Angrily, she shoved the book onto the shelf so that it went through to the other side, knocking five books off the shelf on his side and falling onto the floor, two heavy ones landing hard on his feet.

He cursed under his breath and she smiled to herself, moving further down the aisle in search of her book, even if it had been the one she had shoved at him. She knew now he would come to her.

"That was unnecessary," he said, turning the corner of the aisle and staring at her.

She turned around and looked at him innocently, batting her eyelashes.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

He almost laughed and stalked towards her.

"Oh, I think you do, precious."

Her eyes narrowed suddenly. _How dare he call her pet names again so soon. She hadn't forgiven him_; at least not that he was aware of. And, she _was_ still mad at him. He didn't deserve her and she knew he knew that.

She turned back around to face the bookshelf, searching for the book she knew wasn't there.

And then, quite unexpectedly, he was right behind her, his form molding around hers and his mouth hovering over her ear. She could feel the airy moisture his breath created as his lips caressed the shell of her ear.

She jerked her elbow back to hit him in the stomach. He curled back, groaning and thoroughly pissed now.

"What the hell, Blair?"

She turned around and with narrowed eyes, hissed at him, "Shh!"

He growled and approached her again.

"Oh, I'll show you just how quiet I can be. Don't know if you can though." He pressed her up against the shelves plastered to the wall so no books would fall through. Then he pinned her arms to the shelves so she couldn't push him away.

"Get off of me." She struggled feebly, no clear sign of victory on the horizon.

"You don't really want me to do that, now do you?" he teased, leaning in and stopping just before his lips brushed hers.

"Actually, I do." She wriggled around some more to no avail.

"You're not still mad at me, are you?" he asked playfully.

"Actually, I am," she ground out, still struggling to get free.

"Don't fight it," he murmured, leaning in again.

She refused to look at him.

"You're not helping your case," she said angrily. "We could very easily get caught here."

He smirked, because she'd just admitted she wanted him.

"_Please_. Nobody checks this aisle. Hardly anybody checks out or even looks at these books. But you knew that, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just trying to find a book for class. It's not my fault it was in this aisle."

He sighed knowingly. "Oh Blair, you naïve little bitch."

She froze and turned her head to finally make eye contact, daring him to explain himself.

"We may not be in the same classroom, but we have the same class during this period, just different teachers. I know for this assignment, you can choose your topic, and the text." He was practically gloating, proud as a peacock for his informing and her jaw-dropping reaction. She was literally speechless.

Finally she pursed her lips.

"I'm still mad at you."

"I'm not going to apologize if that's what you're waiting for."

"I'm not stupid."

He smirked. "It's one of your qualities I admire most."

Thoroughly frustrated, she dug the heel of her shoe into his toe, causing him to jump back and glare at her. She walked down the aisle and turned the corner so she could pick up her needed book and check out. Her library fantasy had been shut down by the supremely egotistical Chuck Bass. Now her pride was winning out.

Before she could exit the next aisle however, he blocked the entrance.

She narrowed her eyebrows again, book in hand.

"_Move_," she demanded.

"_Make me_," he dared.

Her lips pursed tightly.

His jaw clenched.

Her face relaxed suddenly and a cool expression took over.

"I don't need to have sex with you," she stated plainly.

He scoffed. "Please. You're a sex minx right now." He started walking towards her slowly. She retreated a few small steps and then stopped. "Sex is all you can think about," he purred.

She made a disgusted sound and started to push him away again because somehow he'd gotten very close to her once more in a very short amount of time.

But this time, instead of letting her push him away, he halted half-way and grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Tell me you don't feel those shivers."

"I don't," she insisted, repeating the lie as a mantra to herself silently.

"No?" he asked innocently.

"No," she said matter-of-factly, making no effort to retreat.

"What about this?" he asked, kissing the back of her hand, the moisture of his lips soaking her skin.

She swallowed. "Nope."

"Hmm…" he contemplated, not discouraged in the least. "What about this?" he asked, kissing the top of her wrist. "Or this?" He turned her arm over to kiss the inside. He took a step closer and she sucked in a breath as he slowly kissed his way up her arm, repeating his simple verbal prodding until it was a barely audible murmur. Her shivers were blatantly evident when he reached the crook of her neck, kissed, sucked and nibbled, pushing her hair over her shoulder simultaneously.

"_Chuck_," she moaned, her legs starting to wobble. She grabbed at a shelf to steady herself.

He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist so she wouldn't have to rely on her own frailty, but also so she could feel how jacked up he was as he pulled her swiftly against him.

She gasped again and finally pulled back to look at him as his lips left her skin, allowing the cool air in the library to brush past the wet skin.

"Am I forgiven yet?" he asked, his voice husky now instead of taunting or falsely innocent.

She didn't answer verbally, because she wasn't going to admit it and he hadn't apologized, but she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him passionately.

He let himself be dragged to her and pushed them to the far end of the aisle, coming to a halt against the back shelf against the wall, hiding them in the dark recesses of the library.

Nobody came down this aisle either.

His hand snuck up under her skirt, smoothing beneath her underwear, creeping towards her center as her leg wrapped around his calf. She moaned at his touch, wrapping her arms tighter around him and kissing him fiercely. His other hand pushed her harder into the book shelf, pushing the books as far back as he could manage so he could enforce more pressure, swallow all of her.

He wanted her neck again, and her breasts as well, so he broke away from her mouth and lowered his lips. She cried out and moaned, to which he quickly covered her mouth and then laughed softly.

"Quiet, baby, we're in a library, remember?"

Her eyes opened, but her vision was hazy. She could only nod weakly in response and bring his lips back to hers.

"_Help me_," she murmured, one of her hands sliding down his front to grip his pants-covered member.

He groaned, muffling the sound against her as he ducked his face into her neck, the skin on his face already starting to sweat and stick to her.

She started to run her hand up and down continuously until he couldn't stand it and used the hand propped up on the bookshelf to quickly unbuckle his belt and pull down the zipper on his pants. He groaned again in relief when he felt the skin-to-skin contact from her hand to his dick. He found the nubbin in her core and began the circular motions while pumping her with his fingers. They both clung to each other in a desperate effort to remain quiet and yet satisfy their needs.

"_Oh god_," she ground out, trying to make the groan a whisper. She chanted his name as if it was the only word she knew and just as they were both on the verge of release, Chuck pulled away momentarily, quickly slipped on a condom and positioned Blair in the crook that created a corner between the bookshelves. Then he lifted her up, gripped her thighs, kissed her hard and thrust up into her.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he increased his speed and the depth he went. She bit down hard on his shirt-covered shoulder, creating a tiny tear in the material. A muffled scream followed as she reached her climax and he nearly collapsed coming down off of his.

Just as he was setting her down gently, her worst fear came down onto her like thunder and lightning.

"Blair!" one of the girls from her class called out. "It's time to come back to class!"

The librarian shushed her, but Blair knew it was only a matter of time before her unimportant classmate would find her in this conspicuous positioning.

"Coming!" she called out as calmly as she could manage.

Luckily for her, there wasn't much to straighten out. Chuck even helped her adjust her headband and put her hair back in place as best as could be managed without a hairbrush. He walked halfway down the aisle too and picked up the book she had come to claim. She almost stopped him before she realized his intention because she didn't want him to be seen coming out first from the aisle.

She smiled gratefully though when he gave the book to her.

"Am I forgiven?" he asked, a smirk plastered to his face.

She almost said yes, but decided against it and rolled her eyes instead, walking past him and meeting her classmate just three more aisles down.

If he wouldn't apologize, she wouldn't forgive him. Not verbally at least.

…

A/N: Please review. I really do need it. I know there was less smut and more banter, but maybe you'll forgive me? ;) Will try to update SS soon, but please try to tone it down on the begging for it. I am well aware the majority of my readers want that most. I am just on lack of energy and time. Hopefully that will be made up soon. =)


	4. Dressing Room

A/N: Alright, I've done some research in the last twenty minutes or so, skimming through 1x10 and the like and have come to the conclusion that I've hit the part of this story that is going to require input from the show (since this has turned into a multi-chap that I stupidly started only the week before Cotillion XD). This chap will be Thursday of the week before Cotillion, and since Cotillion is supposed to be on Sunday, I have to shove everything that's in the first half of 1x10 in the 2-3 days before it, making Nate's asking Blair to Cotillion in this chapter – theoretically. Since this is my own story, I don't think I'll be including the actual scenes from the show, but they should be assumed if I don't hint heavily at them in this story. If they are not the same, there will also be mentions. If you're unsure, just let me know. ;)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.4—Dressing Room**

To say he was on edge would be putting it lightly. From Nate's wanting Blair again to him succeeding in getting her to go to Cotillion with him to their scheduling a meeting with the tailor tomorrow so they'd match appropriately, Chuck was the least pleased man on the planet. Despite the fact that he'd seduced Blair in the library the day before, no official apology had been given and she was casual at most during their encounters since then. She practically ignored him during their final dance rehearsal, which distressed him further. He reminded himself though that ignoring was a rule they had agreed upon for their affair to avoid suspicion from outside parties. She had also been particularly flirtatious before Nate had appeared on her doorstep, romancing her with memories of their past relationship to get her to cave and be his date. Chuck knew that trick. It was an age old one, even if he had never used it because he'd never really had an "ex" he needed to get back for any reason or other. He'd seen it played out though. The guy never had innocent intentions, and Nate was no exception. In his mind, Nate maybe was agreeing to attend the dance as "just friends" with Blair, but he wasn't planning on _ending_ the night that way.

The prospect that he might lose Blair due to the fact that her knight in shining armor had finally come to his senses and decided she was worth his time absolutely terrified him. He couldn't explain it, but there was this dark, aching, black hole inside him that he'd refused to acknowledge for years, mostly because of the familial emptiness he knew deep down had always been there. He filled that hole with smarmy remarks, sex, drugs and partying, but when Blair came along and feelings sparked between them, it was as if that hole was slowly coming to a close. He didn't want to lose that, and he knew he'd never be the same without her. He couldn't just go back to talking with Nate, commenting inappropriately on his best friend's love life because of amusement and even genuine affection. Because now he'd be in love with Nate's girl and that tainted everything that had been there before. He wouldn't deny it anymore, at least not to himself. He was desperately in love with Blair Waldorf. There was no way he would let her go without a fight. There had to be _some way_ to keep her from attending Cotillion with Nate.

"I'm sorry," he blurted after staring at her for a millennium. She was at the tailor's putting the final touches on her Cotillion dress, so that she wouldn't have to worry about her own ensemble while she was inspecting Nate's. She'd become uncharacteristically busy not five minutes after returning from her little chat with Nate. She then proceeded to shoo Chuck out of her room and out of her house as soon as she decided Nate was out of the vicinity where he could possibly discover them. An hour later Chuck returned and pestered Dorota about Blair's whereabouts. He didn't know how much the maid knew about them, but he guessed she knew enough to keep her mouth shut about spilling their secret. He was afraid she wouldn't give away the needed information on Blair's current location, but the desperation on his face must've been enough. He would worry later about how pathetic he was becoming and how very whipped he was over Blair Waldorf.

Blair blinked in the mirror at his reflection. The tailor had just walked into an adjoining room while she inspected herself. She'd sent him off indefinitely and she was glad for it. Chuck had some nerve showing up unannounced at her private tailor's appointment.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You should be. What do you think you're doing here?" she asked, turning around.

Taken aback by her foul mood, his own eyes narrowed.

"What are you pissed about? It happened two days ago. I said I was sorry," he seethed.

Her eyes shifted from anger to confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

He paused, sure now he was missing something.

"What are _you_ talking about?" he countered.

She scoffed. "I'm talking about the fact that we're in a public place and someone could see us."

It took him in a minute, but when it dawned on him he was unbelievably relieved. She had forgotten it. Or, at the very least she had gotten over it. Then again, maybe she hadn't. His arrival here certainly wasn't cause for such venom.

"It's a private appointment," he said, regrettable anger and frustration tinting his voice. "And your tailor isn't even in the room. Who will possibly see and even report us?"

She scoffed after too long a silence.

"And besides," he continued, walking towards her slowly now, "it was _you_ who wanted to get more adventurous in public, was it not?"

She crossed her arms against her chest and avoided eye contact, realizing she was losing the battle but not secretly thrilled about that fact like usual.

"Things are different now," she insisted.

He stopped halfway to her. "_Why_?" He knew _how_. How was an annoying best friend of his named Nathaniel Archibald and the history that stood between them.

She looked up at him, irritated. "You know why." He waited. "Nate," she said, exasperated when he didn't give any sign of knowing.

He tried not to visibly show his panic.

"He obviously suspects something between us."

Chuck froze. "What makes you so sure?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why else would he ask me to Cotillion out of the blue?" she asked, turning back to the mirror to examine her dress. She spotted her long white gloves on the short table against the wall and grabbed for them, delighted at the momentary distraction.

Chuck, for one, was completely relieved. She didn't sense it at all. She hadn't gotten the subtle hints that Nate wanted her back. If she did, she was in denial of it and that was definitely something that could work to his advantage. If he made a huge effort to show her just how much better he was for her than Nate up until Cotillion, there was no way she would choose her long-lasting ex-lover over him. _Right?_

He came up behind her as she examined herself and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Chuck," she scolded, trying to untangle his arms from her slender form.

"You know I could take you," he said quietly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder a beat later.

She stilled her movements and let the words sink in, just like they had every time before when she'd brush them away.

"There's too much suspicion now, even if I wanted to," she got out. Chuck lifted his head and gave her the most intense stare she'd yet seen from him in the mirror.

"I'm Chuck Bass and you're Blair Waldorf," he said, his voice raspy. "If anyone can pull off frenemies as Cotillion dates, it's us."

She sighed and turned to face him. _Frenemies?_ she wanted to tease playfully, because Chuck Bass was hardly ever likely to use non-words to express what he was trying to get across.

But the moment was too serious for her, for both of them really, because for the first time since he'd offered what felt like twenty times ago, she really wanted to say yes and she was genuinely afraid they'd be discovered.

"The risk is too high, Chuck," she said softly. "If Nate isn't suspicious now, you _know_ that would make him so."

"You'd be surprised at how slow your ex-lover can be," he remarked lightly.

She smacked his chest gently. "Be nice."

Deep in his gut it hurt that she'd defended him.

"How can I?" he asked softly, "when I want you all to myself…" he said in a whisper.

She stopped the ministrations she'd been doing with her fingers on his shirt and looked up into his deep brown eyes, overwhelmed by the depths of them. There was an overwhelming declaration there, a monologue Shakespeare would be proud of, an award-winning speech for the Oscars or the Grammy's, but she knew he would not say a word of it out loud.

Just when he'd started to scold himself for being so open and vulnerable, for showing her how weak and how jealous he was when they weren't even technically together, she grabbed him by the back of his neck and kissed him madly. Jolted for a moment, he quickly recovered and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, his hands roaming over her and finally pulling pins from her hair. Just as their bodies met the wall, nearly toppling over the body-length mirror she'd been examining herself in, Blair pulled back to take a breath.

"W-Wait," she managed.

"What is it?" he asked, breathing heavily and praying to god that she hadn't suddenly changed her mind and his confession truly was a mistake.

"This dress can't be ripped," she said, sounding so reasonably calm he almost questioned her sanity. "It's my Cotillion dress and I will hack off your balls with an ax if you ruin it."

He slowly smirked and then laughed lightly.

"An ax? That's a little violent, isn't it?"

She returned his smirk.

"Would you have me any other way?" she asked, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"Turn around," he said with hooded eyes. She turned and shivered as he gently swept her hair over her shoulder and slowly unzipped her gown. He helped her step out of it and even hung it up on the hanger used for it on the far side of the room. The lingerie he found her in when he turned back around sped his heart rate up.

"Yes," she said in answer to his unspoken question. "I did wear this for you under my dress. I fantasized about you in the shower this morning. You taking me at Cotillion when no one was looking and—"

He silenced her before she could finish her drugging words and grabbed at every inch of her, pressing her against the wall and lifted her up so she couldn't move.

She could feel the bulge inside his pants and ached for it to be inside her.

"_Chuck_," she whimpered, lifting her head so their lips parted and his mouth latched onto her neck instead. He started moving his lower half against her while sucking at her skin like a vampire. Her eyes rolled back as she clung to him, one set of nails digging into his skull and the other scraping down his back.

"Take your jacket off," she panted.

He struggled with the demand, but eventually managed it.

"And your shirt," she continued.

He somehow managed that as well.

"Your belt and your pants, your boxers, please, Chuck," she moaned, pressing her forehead against his shoulder.

He would have smirked and smiled and laughed and teased, but he was sucked up into her irresistible essence and could only obey her commands.

Suddenly she braced her hands on his chest and she paused.

"Now fuck me, Chuck," she demanded with smoldering eyes.

He hadn't even finished undoing his belt one-handed when she made the demand and it completely changed course of the entire turn of events. He set her down and she kissed him heavily again. He swept her up in his arms and she continued to suck the air from his lungs and carried her across the room to the luxurious emerald couch against the wall.

When he lay her down on the sinking surface, he just stared at her for awhile, and how magnificent and porcelain and seductive she looked. An Egyptian Queen she could have been for how she dazzled. Cleopatra was no match for Blair Waldorf. He would have fallen under her spell the second he laid eyes on her had they existed in that time and in that place. It was no different now.

He snapped out of it when he felt her hands on his covered member and grazing his belt buckle so he felt her touch on his stomach. He assisted her finally and unsnapped her lacy garments as he finally came down to her, sliding into her melting core before his body fully hovered over her.

He lowered his head and kissed her passionately with each thrust. Her nails dragged all over his back, his ass, his neck, his scalp. She cried his name, oblivious to anyone else in the vicinity. He murmured that she call him God instead, and also made a huge effort to swallow her cries as they consumed him as well. He pumped faster and harder, ground out her name, breathed heavily, purring against her as he groaned and lost all control of himself.

Before it was all over she used all the force she had left and hoisted herself up so they were both sitting together on the couch, inside of each other. She rode him like that, one arm hooked around the top of the couch and the other around his neck, never breaking eye contact and only going faster. When he was right near the edge, when they both were, she slowed down her pace considerably until she was barely moving and that was when he pushed her down onto her back again and pumped her three quick times before emptying into her completely and collapsing on top of her.

Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. Blair's eyes snapped wide open because they were both laying on the couch in open view of anyone who would walk into the room, and they were intertwined. And naked.

"Miss Waldorf, have you quite finished? Do you need any further adjustments?" the old man asked from behind the closed door.

She cleared her throat and called out from her position.

"About fifteen more minutes and I should be done, Mr. Francais."

"Alright, Miss Waldorf, that's fine. Take your time. I just wanted to check up on you."

Her head fell back and she sighed in relief when she heard his footsteps walking away.

"That was close," she said, only half aware that Chuck was almost half-dressed by the time she'd sat up straight on the couch.

"What are you doing?" she frowned.

He found her clothes from before her dress-fitting and threw them to her from across the room.

"Getting out of here so you don't get caught red-handed."

She knew it was very considerate of him, especially when she'd berated him so harshly earlier, but it suddenly made her very upset that he'd cut their afterglow off so early. She'd been overwhelmed by the degree of passion and longing in his voice just before she'd lunged at him. Now it looked like he couldn't get away fast enough.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," she said, brusquely, slipping on her clothes and standing to her feet, grateful that she hadn't kept her heels on during the scuffled across the room, since she didn't think she could particularly stand all that well in them at the moment. "We can't be seen running around together, especially with our messy appearance I'm sure."

He was already at the mirror adjusting his locks and his shirt and pants. His jacket was next and then it was as if no one had even touched him. He glanced back at her.

"There's a mirror. I'm sure you'll do just fine." He winked at her and headed for the door.

Her mouth hung open and she knew it was ridiculous, but she felt like she was about to dissolve into a puddle of tears.

He turned back once more before leaving and saw the look on her face when she was unaware. Love, determination and passion thrumming through him, he strode across the length of the room, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her swiftly, deepening the kiss until they needed air.

"Chuck," she gasped when he broke away but still held her close.

"Do you want me to come over later?" he asked gently, not worried at all what her response might be.

She nodded a few times and smiled a little.

"Yes," she whispered.

Uncontrollably he smiled and then regretfully released her, maintaining eye contact until he had to leave lest he run into the closed door.

Yep. It was official. He was head over heels in love with this girl, and he had a feeling it would get him into loads of trouble. His biggest problem remained Nathaniel, but for now he didn't dwell on it. His only thought was Blair Waldorf and how she'd smiled at him with stars in her eyes, anticipating their next meeting.

….

A/N: I contemplated angst for the last bit, but I though nah, I'll leave that for next chapter, or maybe the chapter after that. I do want to alter the Cotillion slightly after all. ;) Hope you enjoyed! Please comment! While I don't know how often I will update, I can guarantee that this will be my sole focus story until its conclusion. I do have a few one-shots I would like to get done soon however, so if you could head on over to my profile and vote for one of them that would be lovely. Thanks again! Love you all! =P


	5. Candles

A/N: Alright, so over 10 reviews for last chap. Good to know I still have a readership for this fic. =) Real plot developing now. Cotillion will not be the same and I think that will be made clear by the end of this chap, though all things considered, this installment probably does not progress the story much. It will mostly just consist of CB's night together following last chap's events. Hope you enjoy. ;) Please review!

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.5—Candles**

Blair smiled when she looked down at her most recent text.

"What?" Serena asked, a coy smile on her face as she looked at her best friend sitting across from her on her bed.

"Nothing," the brunette said, scrolling down to see the rest of the message. She bit her bottom lip, practically swooning.

"Why are you smiling? Something from Nate?" she asked hopefully, despite the fact that earlier that day her best friend had been grumbling about how Romeo was better than Hamlet and Nate clearly met all the qualifications of the latter.

Blair's head snapped up at the mention of her ex's name.

"What? No!" She looked both scandalized and guilty.

"B…" Serena began, suspicious now and starting to reach for her best friend's phone which was instantly taken out of her reach.

"Privacy, S!"

Her brows furrowed. "You're not telling me something."

Blair sighed and quickly started to gather her things.

"You know, I really should be going."

Serena frowned and got up.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I won't pry anymore, promise."

She flicked up a glance up at the blonde.

"You're my best friend. It's your job to pry."

Serena relaxed slightly.

Blair straightened. "Unfortunately for you, I will not be divulging any information tonight." She suddenly gave her the brightest most genuine smile she could muster. It was meant to be a front to get her out of there but she knew there were still stars in her eyes. "I have to get home. Dorota has a surprise for me."

"Dorota," Serena said neutrally. It was the most pathetic excuse she could have possible come up with.

"Yes, Dorota." Blair maneuvered her way across the room and paused at the door, looking back at her best friend. "She can be quite creative when she puts her mind to it, and she knows all my tastes, clothing, food and otherwise."

Serena looked at her blankly, trying to find a solid thought or perhaps a penetrating question, but nothing was coming to her.

"I'll call you," Blair said, her lips sliding into a smirk Serena had been seeing more and more often since her seventeenth birthday.

But before she could respond, the brunette was skipping out her bedroom door and exiting the suite without any extended conversations to her mother and brother on the way out. And she was humming to herself.

She stepped out into the hall, staring after where her best friend had walked out. Both Lily and Eric turned to look at her in explanation of Blair's overly cheerful mood. When Serena registered them, her arms flew up from her sides.

"Don't ask me, I don't know what's going on!"

Lily's lips parted and Eric looked amused, but Serena was back in her room before they could comment or question her.

…

**Wear your necklace. I'll bring the candles.**

**Be there at 8.**

**-C**

She half-expected him to be in her room or at least in her house when she walked through the elevator doors, but he wasn't. She'd be lying if she wasn't just a little disappointed, but it did give her time to get ready so she decided it wasn't warranted.

"Miss Blair." Dorota bustled into the foyer. "These come for you." She gestured to the flowers sitting in the corner that her mistress had neglected to see initially.

They were pink peonies that gave her chills from her head to her toes when she contemplated the romantic gesture and who it had been from.

_Chuck_.

"Who are they from, Dorota?" she managed, making her way slowly to them as her maid turned the lights on in the room.

"I know look at the card," Dorota said in what suspiciously sounded like fake innocence. Just before reaching for the bouquet, Blair glanced at her maid.

"I _invented_ that," she informed her. Dorota avoided eye contact though and so she dismissed her for the evening. "I want to be alone," she said simply, not giving any further explanation but assuring her maid that it had nothing to do with her sneaking a peek at the sender's card.

Once Dorota had disappeared into the kitchen to put away a few more things before leaving, Blair lowered her face into the flower petals and smelled them. They were exquisite. Their scent was heady.

A beat later, she reached for the card and it was as she expected. Her heart soared. She half-expected it to be missing or from Nate, to which she would have been extremely disappointed, and definitely annoyed.

_Blair,_

_Can't wait to see you._

_-xoxo Chuck_

She shivered where she stood. _Gosh, when had the great Chuck Bass gone and gotten so very romantic? _Not that she was complaining. If she stayed there thinking about it too much she knew she'd start to get suspicious or put up her walls again, distance herself from him. That was the last thing she wanted tonight. Tomorrow maybe she would scold herself for thrilling in his behavior towards her. But tonight he'd confessed that he wanted her all to himself and pleaded with her again that he take her to Cotillion. They weren't messages that he hadn't portrayed before, but they had been done with such genuine vulnerability and almost desperation that it took her breath away. She'd let her romantic fantasies run wild tonight.

She took the flowers from the small table and carried them with her up to her room. She set them on the end table beside her and walked to her jewelry collection in her top drawer. The Erickson Beamon stood out among the rest, the most beautiful piece she'd ever owned – and from Chuck Bass no less.

She touched it lightly, gently, as if she was afraid it would break. It sparkled, untarnished. She'd only worn it on one other occasion, and she'd kept it out of sight from Serena. Her best friend knew about the first two times she'd slept with Chuck, but even if they'd made up from her first initial outburst, she decided what Serena didn't know couldn't hurt either of them. It was best if she was kept in the dark about the reason behind her cheerful mood since her birthday. The less people that knew about this little affair, the better.

She didn't let herself think what that meant for the future of their relationship, or association rather. All she knew for certain was that she didn't want it to end and from what she could tell, Chuck felt the same. She knew it was wrong for her to put Chuck Bass in the same category with other decent human beings, or even one with boyfriend potential, because that was ridiculous in and of itself. Chuck would never commit, no matter how infatuated he was with her right now.

There was a lot of doubt that came with her thinking about their future, so she just stopped thinking about it and just focused on tonight, particularly how she would dress for him. She wanted to dazzle him, and with more than just her necklace.

…

Forty-five minutes later at 7:35, Blair stood in front of her mirror, analyzing herself the way she'd done in the tailor's dressing room several hours earlier. Maybe she was feeling sentimental, but she'd chosen the beige silky negligee she'd worn under that horrid Pilgrim dress the night she'd given her virginity to him. She almost wore the long pearls around her neck until she remembered his request for the Erickson Beamon. Surprisingly, it went very well with her little scrap of clothing.

She contemplated keeping her hair down in the cascading curls she'd donned that fateful night, but changed her mind at the last minute at the reminder that she'd discovered one particular weakness of Chuck's since they'd been together. The nape of the neck. It was his kryptonite.

It made her shiver just to think she had such an effect on him, and with something specific too. It gave her a sense of power and belonging. She could wield him to do just about anything and he never got sick of her. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. It even surpassed the knowledge that she might be an Archibald someday by official declaration. This was so, _so_ much better.

Her phone rang just as she was adjusting the sexy bun she'd put her hair into and the dangling curls lying on either side of her face. Her make-up was perfect and the heels she'd chosen were undeniably the highest she owned. If the nape of her neck where she'd sprayed her favorite vanilla and lavender perfume didn't lure him in, these heels would. Men fell weak at the knees for a woman in high heels. It was a known fact.

The name blaring across her cell phone screen made her heart race.

It was _him_.

"Blair Waldorf speaking," she said very professionally, feeling as light and flirty as ever.

"Blair…" Chuck began, sounding worn down and apologetic.

She felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She cleared her throat to prevent showing any weakness, or god forbid, tears or sniffling during this suddenly horrible conversation.

"Don't say it," she said quickly. "I understand. No hard feelings. I got the flowers after all. That's something."

"Flowers?" he asked, sounding confused.

_Oh god._ She felt the world crumbling around her. Had someone forged his handwriting in that card? Had sent her favorite flowers to her? Had it been Nate after all? Did Dorota do it because she felt sorry for her?

She was so mad at the world now she could scream.

"Nevermind," she muttered, the bite obvious in her voice. She couldn't hide it and honestly she wanted to slap him.

"I'm sorry…" he began, his voice sounding louder and an indistinct noise in the background that she probably should have recognized but with her sudden whirling emotions, she couldn't distinguish it.

"Don't. Just don't." She ended the call, furious and on the verge of tears. She was about to throw her phone across the room in a serious effort to destroy it when a presence behind her stopped her.

"Don't."

She froze. Then the phone dropped from her hands onto the bed and she turned slowly around. There he stood, more peonies in hand, a dashing smile on his face and the same ensemble he'd worn the night he took her virginity. Seemed she wasn't the only feeling sentimental tonight.

His eyes moved away from her face after he gave her a slow once-over.

"Waldorf, you've outdone yourself." He smirked, regaining his breath in an effort to look smooth and in control. When he drew his eyes back to hers though, she was fuming, her eyes on fire, and not in the good way. He frowned immediately and the propped up flowers in his hand lowered to his side.

"What?" he asked.

"You…are an ass," she got out in a harsh whisper.

His eyebrows narrowed. "I just complimented you. That hardly makes me an ass."

She ground her teeth together in an effort to keep from huffing and puffing. She stormed towards him, ripped the flowers out of his hands and started whacking him on the head with them.

"Hey-Ow-!"

"Do-you-know-what-I-was-about-to-do?" she demanded, hitting him harder after every word. Soon the petals were falling off their stems and congregating on the floor around them.

Finally he got a hold of her hands but she stepped hard on his foot with her stiletto heels and he yelped, stepping back. He yelped and jumped back.

"Jesus, Blair, what the hell?" he barked.

She turned away calmly, slid out of her shoes and grabbed the other peonies in a glass vase sitting on the end table by her bedside. She brought it back to him and made a motion to throw it onto his other foot, no doubt crippling him.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't paralyze you right now."

He was still wincing and making an effort not to curse at her again, but managed to get some clear thoughts on what was pissing her off.

"Because I came," he ground out. "Early."

She scoffed, but a second too late. "Yes, right as you called to bail on me," she seethed.

"I never said that," he said harshly.

"You didn't have to. The tone of your voice said it for you." Her eyebrows narrowed. "And then you pretended like you didn't know about the flowers."

"I forgot about them!" he defended.

She scoffed and crossed her arms under her breasts. "_Right_. And I forgot to wear the Erickson Beamon necklace tonight."

He glanced down to see the sparkling piece of jewelry hanging around her neck. It made him catch his breath in his throat for a minute. He swallowed and forced himself to look back up into her flaming, furious eyes.

"Blair, I arranged to have those flowers sent weeks ago. I honestly did forget about them."

"Why should I believe you?" she asked, clearly suspicious and doubtful.

"Because, I brought _these_." He gestured to the flowers that were mostly broken stems and sparse petals in his hand.

She considered his logic, and finally decided she might have jumped to conclusions.

"What makes today so special? Why would you have sent for them to be delivered now?" she demanded, though with less venom now.

"There are only a few days left until Cotillion," he explained. "It was going to be my last ditch effort to get you to let me to escort you. If you hadn't already agreed to it that is."

Her heart soared.

"So you weren't calling to cancel?" she asked, joy rushing through her.

"Well…" he half-laughed. "I admit I did want to surprise you, and so I may have tried to make it sound like I was cancelling only to show up at your door…"

Her eyes narrowed. "I knew it." She took a step back when he tried to approach her. "I won't ever forgive you for this."

He sighed patiently. "I still came, Blair."

"That—"

"And-" he held up a finger to prevent her from launching into a lecture. "I came prepared."

She pursed her lips tightly but waited. He pulled out a small box from behind his back, just as he had done the night of her seventeenth birthday and opened it slowly. Her eyes widened in awe. She was breathless. It was a dazzling diamond bracelet matching the Erickson Beamon draped lying around her neck.

When she looked up at Chuck she had completely forgotten their argument and why he was such a horrible human being. She closed the distance between them immediately and kissed him, pulling him close.

He reciprocated eagerly, wrapping his arms around her and somehow managing to close the jewelry box and toss it onto her bed so he could allow his hands to give her the full attention he needed to.

"You're horrible, absolutely horrible," she said in between heated kisses.

"Absolutely," he agreed. "I should be punished."

She smiled against him and ran her hands inside his jacket so she could push it off. They started walking backwards till they fell back onto her bed. He kissed her deeply, crushing her into the bed as she wrapped her limbs around him.

"I need to touch you," she purred. "Take your clothes off." She gently bit on his earlobe.

He growled. "You are sexy as hell."

She smiled, watching him with heated eyes as he rose back up onto his knees and started to unbutton his shirt. She felt the poking of the bracelet box digging into her back and quickly tossed it onto the floor. She could not remember in all her years being that careless with expensive jewelry.

"Did you bring the candles?" she asked, giving him more than one once-over, especially when he got to unzipping his pants and she saw his erection bursting at the seams.

"I did," he confirmed, "but it appears our romantic dinner will have to wait until afterwards."

Her thoughts immediately shifted. She looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"You prepared a romantic dinner?" she asked, the little girl inside her jumping up and down and swooning at the little fairytale this was turning out to be.

He smirked. "Well, I didn't prepare it. But yes, I had it prepared. It's sitting downstairs on the kitchen table, where two candles are also lit and waiting for us. Come to think of it, maybe I should go blow those out, since it seems you have also sent your maid home…"

"Don't you dare." She pulled him down to her, kissing him hot and heavy.

He pushed her back into the bed, caging her face with his bent arms and dragging his lips to her neck, nibbling on the sweet-scented skin.

"You smell incredible," he moaned. Shivers ran up and down her back.

"_Chuck_," she moaned in response.

"So fucking beautiful," he said, slipping his hands under her slip and reaching up till he cupped her warm breasts that fit perfectly into the palm of his hands. "So soft," he murmured. "Incredible."

She groaned at the feel of him and took the initiative, dragging up the rest of her negligee and tossing it onto the floor, followed by the pins holding her hair in place.

"Mmm," he moaned kissing across her chest and down her stomach then at the crook of her neck again.

"Chuck, I want you inside me," she demanded.

The blood heated his veins. He got even more jacked up, if that was possible.

She grabbed at him, pulling him upwards so he was at her entrance. Then she started pushing him down.

He froze suddenly, aware of how close he was to entering her. Red flags went up that hadn't been there that afternoon, and he knew already that he'd screwed up.

"Wait," he said breathlessly.

"What?" she whined.

"You don't want to get pregnant, do you?"

Her eyes flashed open. "What?" she shrieked. "I thought you always use protection!"

He cleared her throat and she suddenly became aware of their situation. Her mouth formed a perfect 'o' and then she hurriedly pushed him off of her, demanding he put a condom on or he wasn't getting _anything_ from her. Which, he knew, would only be a punishment for both of them. Still, he had no problem complying. The guilt was starting to way heavy on him now, because he'd been struck with the realization that for the first time in his entire sexual lifespan, he hadn't used protection.

There was telling what Blair would do when she found out – if she found out. He was betting she wasn't pregnant. He was hoping, praying that wouldn't be the case. It would ruin everything, and worse – he'd lose her.

"Hurry," she whined from her spot on the bed.

He brushed the dark thoughts from his mind and returned to her. This night was going to be theirs. Not even future doom could keep him from making love to her tonight and making her feel like the most special girl in the entire world. Because she was. She was his entire universe.

"Impatient little thing, aren't ya?" he asked with a cocky grin.

She didn't respond verbally, instead grabbing at him, pulling him to her, kissing him madly and gasping sharply when he entered her at the most unexpected moment. She moaned and lost herself in him. He was the most perfect man on the planet and the most obvious closet-romantic. She wanted to be with him forever.

This was, of course, her impending orgasm talking.

She couldn't think clearly with the way he was touching her and whispering sweet, yet dirty words and commands into her ear, the way he was looking at her even when her eyes were closed and she couldn't physically see him. She could feel him, feel his presence. All her senses were magnified.

She was gasping and moving slick against him. Every time was better than the last with him. He never failed to satisfy beyond what she could comprehend or imagine. It wasn't hard to imagine why he was so popular with the female population. And here she had him desperate for her time and time again.

If they stayed in this moment forever, nothing could possibly go wrong.

…

When they finally made it downstairs hours later, the candles had successfully run down their wax. Impressing Blair all the more, Chuck had brought spares. He lit them and kissed her presenting then macaroons, chocolates and a variety of other delicious treats.

"Hardly dinner," she commented.

He smirked. "Are you complaining?"

"No." She smiled slyly. "I like the sweets." She pulled him to her and kissed him, chocolate still in her mouth. When she pulled away half of it was in his. She giggled and kissed him again, but he managed to chew and swallow it before she stole it back from him.

"I brought you a whole box," he murmured against her.

"You're too good to me."

She smiled and abandoned the sweets for his lips instead. He was decidedly smooth, warm and incredibly tasty.

"Do you think the candles will melt away while we're…occupied?" he asked inbetween kisses.

She smirked. "Does it matter?"

"You love candles," he said.

"Not as much as I lo—" she froze, but mumbled past the almost declaration through further kisses before he realized what she'd been about to say. "Just shut up and kiss me," she recovered.

He smiled and dragged her onto his lap. She could feel his erection already poking at her. Heat coursed through her.

"Gladly."

…

A/N: In case you didn't catch it, last chap Chuck forgot to put on a condom when they slept together, and in this chap, he has just realized it but is trying to ignore it for obvious reasons. Hope you enjoyed the chap! I loved it. hehe. Please review. =P


	6. Prescription Meds

A/N: It seems I am learning the hard way that it's not a good idea to stray from the original outline of your story, no matter how many great arcs you think you've come up with along the way. *sigh* This great drama bit I was starting to lead up to last chap appears to have a hole in it, and b/c of this it is not going to be a raging storm, but instead a small hiccup. I'm sure naturally most of you prefer this but I was very much looking forward to the drama. Ah well. Hope you enjoy. :/

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.6—Prescription Meds**

This was the day, he told himself. This was the day he was going to convince Blair to let him take her to Cotillion. It couldn't be that difficult. She'd still had stars in her eyes when she woke up in the morning and the way he'd caressed and worshipped her in the shower had her purring and clinging to him like a vice. She had begged him to stay longer, but he knew better than to wait around for Dorota to show up all disgruntled.

Shortly after fourth period though, he returned to the Waldorf penthouse and sought out Dorota.

"_Give this to Blair," he ordered, handing over the pill. "As soon as she gets home."_

"_Mr. Chu-"_

"_Promise me you'll do this."_

"_I no like this…"_

_His jaw clenched._

"_She needs to take it," he emphasized and suddenly her eyes widened._

_He put the pill into the palm of her hand as she remained there standing in shock. He closed her fingers over them, held her gaze for a few more lingering moments. His message was loud and clear and he sensed she would not disobey the orders._

"_I…I do it, Mr. Chuck."_

"_Thank-you, Dorota," he eased up and slipped into a lighter. Air. "You're one in a million."_

The morning-after pill.

He didn't know why he didn't think of it earlier. All this panicking he'd done and there was a solution right there in front of him. He even had time to return to school and sneak off with her for a luncheon rendezvous. It turned out their night of love-making had made her particularly adventurous. She dragged him to the little alley in between buildings and forced him to fuck her. He couldn't recall ever having these kind of benefits for one night of romance.

His only fear now was that she would get hit with the side effects the pill predicted and would somehow come to blame him for it. Maybe nausea and dizziness could convince her she was just coming down with the flu – a fact she would no doubt hate with Cotillion right around the corner – but tender breasts were an unlikely side effect to a stomach virus.

Her appointment with Nate at the tailor's was at four, and the tea party she was putting together for CeCe Rhodes was an hour later. That gave him roughly an hour and a half in between obligations to give her a good rough and tumble to remind her – as if she'd forgotten – just how good they were together.

His phone rang and he looked down at the phone. Blair's name flashed across the screen.

"Hello?" he asked, confused because school had let out only five minutes ago, despite the fact that he'd left twenty minutes before, and he expected she was spending some time with Serena before going home.

"I do it, Mr. Chuck."

He sat up in his limo.

"Dorota?"

"I switch one of her vitamins and she no know the difference."

"When did you give it to her?" he asked carefully, his voice low.

"Two minutes ago. She upstairs now…looking for her phone."

He smirked. "Why are you calling me on her phone?"

"I no know your number, Mr. Chuck," she said, exasperated.

He smiled wide.

"Thank-you for the information, Dorota." She nodded, even though he couldn't see it, and rolled her eyes, irritated at the secrecy. "Make sure to keep an eye on her too."

"Why?" she asked quickly, concerned immediately.

"There may uh…be some side effects," he said cautiously. "They'll only last two days at most though."

"Gone by Cotillion?" she asked suspiciously.

He smirked. "I guarantee it."

"I no like this, Mr. Chuck," she grumbled.

"Yes, yes, I know. Good-bye, Dorota. And thank-you, once again."

He ended the call before she could respond in any way.

_Good. She'd taken the pill. He was safe._

…

She'd turned him down before her meeting with Nate, saying she needed to prepare and wanted to hang out with Serena. At least that's what he'd taken from her constant – _BUSY_ – text. It made him frown every time, so he made excuses for her in his mind.

He had convinced her to let him give her a ride to the tailor's though, which had gone longer than expected since Chuck had his driver turn a couple extra turns so he could extend his makeout with Blair. He was able to continue it five minutes later when she waltzed back across the street and into his limo.

"How's Prince Charming?" he asked lazily after she shut the door.

She dropped her purse and went straight into his arms, kissing him to silence the small talk.

"Charming, as always," she murmured, starting to unbutton Chuck's shirt.

He smirked, indulging in the sight of her undressing him like this, her eyes heated, her fingers trembling.

As she continued the somewhat troublesome task, he brushed her hair over her should and started to kiss her neck. It made her lose focus for a moment or two and she bit her bottom lip. He made her shiver so easily.

She made a sharp intake of breath once she'd gotten his shirt pulled out and was at his belt, about to unbuckle it. He put a hand over hers to stop her. She looked up at him in question.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he smarmed with the thickest smirk on his face.

She felt herself grow hot and wordlessly stripped herself of her jacket, shirt and bra. She saw him visibly swallow and his eyes dilate. Her hand covered his crotch and she felt his dick jump to life. Her lips parted in a wicked grin.

"You're a minx, you know that?" he said, dazed as he reached forward to capture one of her breasts in his hand. She stopped him with her own hand.

"I showed you mine…" she reminded him.

He smirked and unbuckled his belt. Then he felt around in his boxers and pulled out his throbbing dick, running his hand up and down it slowly as he watched her eyes grow hot at the movement.

She couldn't even speak. She was breathless. Without thinking, she started to lower her lips until they were closing down over the top of his dick.

He gasped. "Blair-" he barely got out, choking on his own breath.

She'd _never_ sucked him before, and he hadn't pushed her. All he wanted was to please her sexually, and that pleased him well enough. The fact that she had gone down on him, dove right into her first blowjob without a second thought aroused him like nothing else had.

"You don't have to…oh god." His head fell back on the seat as she started to move her mouth up and down his dick, swirling around him with her tongue.

It was different, but not as disgusting as she'd once imagined it would be, and it set him off like nothing ever had before. She liked him like this, in the palm of her hands – or the depths of her mouth in this instance. She was afraid to choke if she attempted deep throat and somehow she sensed he knew that. His hand was grasping her hair tightly but it wasn't pushing her or holding her back. It was just keeping the hair out of her face so she wouldn't have another hassle to deal with, and so he could see her face.

In an effort to make up for not going down all the way, she tugged at his pants so she could free more of him and then started to massage his balls.

He groaned loudly, a new sensation filling him when he leaned forward enough to finish getting out of his shirt and jacket.

"Shit, Blair," he said, pulling her hair back again once he'd settled against the seat once more.

She started moving faster, up and down, up and down, as fast as she could manage without getting scared of the experience and the potential of it herself. She wanted to get him riled up, and she was succeeding. His breaths became more frequent, and short. He was breathing heavy and he was starting to clench around her. In the impending moments just before he pulled free of her to prevent squirting into her mouth, he let his hand roam over his body, particularly around the soft curve of her breast and the erect nipple. He squeezed it and it made her pull out, rubbing her breast in pain as he regretfully spewed his semen all over the floor of the limo.

…

Her breasts were tender. This couldn't be good. That meant she was starting to feel the side effects of the pill, and it was only a matter of time she started getting suspicious and asking questions. He had a feeling Dorota wouldn't be able to keep her secret forever. Thankfully he hadn't given her much information to keep secret. Still, adding to this Nate pestering him about who Blair was seeing was just a little too much for him to handle. He caved and send he'd find out who Blair's "special someone" was.

If she was going to even _have_ a special someone after tonight.

There was no reason for her to point the finger of blame on him. He'd done nothing to her – that she knew of; and he was actually helping her by giving her this particular pill. It would solve all their problems. But he was starting to think that would be useless if she broke it off for a reason she didn't really know about.

"We're here, Mr. Bass," his driver told him, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"Thank-you, Arthur."

He climbed out of the limo and shut it behind him. He straightened his jacket, shook himself of all jitters and walked into the building.

The foyer was empty when he walked out of the elevator. Dorota didn't come to see who was there but a moment later he heard the retching coming from upstairs and closed his eyes in anguish.

Another side effect.

"Send them away, Dorota!" she cried out. The maid bustled out to the banister and then paused when she saw Chuck standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes narrowed.

"You see what you do, Mr. Chuck?" she spat, coming down the stairs. "You no tell me it'd be like this."

"I told you there might be side effects, and that they would end in two days at most."

Her eyes narrowed further. "What exactly did you have me give her?"

"Yes, Chuck."

Blair was suddenly at the top of the stairs looking down on them, and as furious as someone could be who was weak from throwing up for the past hour.

"Blair…" he was rendered speechless, his eyes wide and panicked.

"What did you pay off Dorota to have her give me?" she spat. Dorota looked scandalized. Chuck's eyebrows narrowed.

"I didn't _pay_ her off. It was for your own good."

"What was?"

"The side effects will pass in a few days. You have nothing to worry about," he said as calmly as he could manage. He was well aware of her boiling over.

"Chuck!"

He stopped his explanations and looked up at her. His eyes plead with her to not be angry and her expression grew angrier still.

"What aren't you telling me?" she spat harshly.

He opened his mouth to speak but found he couldn't. Then he turned to Dorota, giving her a silent sign to leave them alone, which she did after a moment's hesitation.

Once she was gone, Chuck slowly made his way up the stairs. Despite her bursting fury, Blair resisted the urge to tell him to stay at the bottom of the stairs and as far away from her as possible.

"The other day…" he began.

"Details later," she cut in. "What did you have Dorota give me?"

He swallowed. "The morning after pill."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "But I thought…"

"Not last night," he promised. "You know that. You saw me put on the condom. You _saw_ it."

"Then _when_?" she cried out.

He sighed. "At the tailor's…after I…"

"After you fed me that line," she cut him off again, spat, and scoffed. She was thoroughly disgusted.

His eyes widened in protest. "It wasn't a line!" he insisted, trying to gather her to him now that he was level with her at the top of the stairs, but she pushed him away so that he almost fell back down the stairs. At the last second he grabbed onto the railing.

"You disgust me." She turned on her heel and headed for her bedroom. He regained his footing and went after her.

"I gave you the morning after pill," he said. "Doesn't that show you that there weren't any ulterior motives? I wasn't trying to get you pregnant!"

She spun around to face him, still furious.

"Then why hide it? Why be so secretive about it? Why involve poor Dorota?"

"I was afraid you'd react badly when you found out. Like you're reacting now!"

She fumed, glared hard at him and turned back for her bedroom, slamming the door in his face after she'd gone inside.

He stopped abruptly when it was clear he wouldn't make it before the hard wood closed the opening.

"Blair!" He pounded on the door once but there was no answer. He banged his head on the wall in frustration. "Blair, come on, just listen to me."

There was no sound.

"It wasn't a line…" he trailed off, mostly to himself. _I love you_ whispered through him, but he knew it would do no good. She wasn't in the mood, wouldn't believe him even if he said it, and he was terrified of the words and what they would mean. Suddenly all the romance of yesterday had flown out the window as if it had never happened to begin with.

Maybe it would've been better if he hadn't gotten the pill to begin with and just risked it to see if she was pregnant or not. Now she wouldn't be but it looked like he'd lost everything in return.

He slammed his fist once more on the wall and then responded to the continued silence by storming down the hall, down the steps, into the elevator, out of the Waldorf residence and into his brooding soul, a place that had remained vacated since the night after Thanksgiving.

…

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Looks like maybe this is still the kind of drama I wanted. *shrug* I still think I'll be able to sneak some sex into every chap, but obvs at least for a bit there will be some angst tied in. :/ Please review!


	7. Mysterious Stranger

A/N: Wow! My review box exploded! I had no idea there was such a huge fanbase for this fic! =D Thank-you all so, so much. Sorry for taking so long for the next update, but my mom's wedding is next Saturday and I'm the maid of honor. XD Also, there is job searching going on. It is hectic. Heh. Anyways, on we go!

Note: This chap may or may not make you very angry at Nate or Serena or both, and may also be a sexless chap. We'll just have to say where the muse takes me.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.7—Mysterious Stranger**

She'd told herself she wasn't going to do this. The secret was enough to battle on her own, and with Chuck of course, but involving another person – any other person – made Blair's paranoia go off the charts.

She wouldn't approve. She would judge. Just like last time. And she would undoubtedly give her the advice she predicted: end things with Chuck before he destroys her.

Which was probably smart. If in the future there was another pregnancy scare, maybe her reaction this time would make him not give her the morning pill at all and just hope for the best. It would be easy for him to back out at any time. Chuck wasn't one to stick around for complications. It astounded her constantly that he'd stuck around this long.

And he'd sounded so sincere…

_How can I? … When I want you all to myself…_

It had made her heart clench, given her unspeakable joy, and she didn't know why. Chuck had told her he had butterflies. He put a lot of effort in spending every spare moment with her, and he never hesitated in his flattery. He worshipped her body and he stirred her deepest desires. Not to mention the jewelry. If it was not for his reputation and her recent break up with his best friend, she wouldn't have a doubt in the world, might even demand he take her to Cotillion.

But that morning pill was sneaky, so she had to talk to someone and she didn't want to get Dorota's judgy eyes widening at the scandal.

So she opted for Serena's.

"Who is he?" the vivacious blonde demanded the instant she plopped onto her best friend's bed.

Blair's mouth had been half-opened, prepared to slowly edge into her reason for inviting Serena over when the simple question completely blindsided her.

"I…uh, w-what?" She blinked rapidly.

Serena rolled her eyes knowingly.

"I know there's a guy, B. You've been so bubbly and happy and confident these last few weeks, even before Thanksgiving." She nudged her. Blair's lips parted again, but Serena cut in. "Not to mention I don't think you've ever looked at Nate as a bad option." Blair frowned. "You've maybe hated him a bit because of how angry or sad you were, but…Hamlet instead of Romeo? Who exactly _is_ your Romeo, B?" She smiled coyly.

Blair was rendered speechless. She didn't know where to start. Her best friend was definitely on the right track, but she didn't have to be if she swayed her in a different direction. She shook her self with the reminder that she had requested this conversation so she could get all her secrets out in the open.

"You caught me," she said in fake excitement. "I've been seeing someone."

Serena squealed. "Who is he?" She was practically jumping off the bed.

Blair laughed nervously. "Before we get to that, I was hoping you could tell me whether I should end it or not."

Serena's bright and happy smile abruptly fell. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

Blair sighed. "Let's just say…there was an…accident," she paused, trying to choose her words wisely. "And he slipped me the morning after pill. Without my knowledge."

Serena's eyes were wide when Blair looked back up at her.

"You _slept_ with him?" she asked in total shock, almost screeching.

Blair rolled her eyes and groaned. "_S_," she whined. "Not this again. _Please_."

Serena shook herself. "You're right, I'm sorry. I mean, at least it's not Chuck, right?" she joked, half-concerned her best friend would contradict her.

"Right," Blair said instantly, deciding leaving Chuck's name out of the conversation was suddenly the best idea ever.

Serena was clearly relieved. "Well, do you really like this guy? Or is this just your fresh breath of air because it's not Nate and you hate his guts?"

Blair laughed. "A little of both," she said. "But I do really like him."

"He makes you happy?" the blonde asked, suddenly sounded dazed, like she was in her own dreamworld.

"Very." Blair nodded. "And he really gets me. Not like Nate ever did. And he just…I think he really likes me too. I mean, I think…I just-"

"What?"

She sighed. "He has a reputation…"

Serena waited.

"He's known as a player."

"Ah."

Blair swallowed. "Yeah…"

"Not much better than Chuck then, is it?"

Her eyes darted up and glared at her best friend.

"Sorry, sorry!" Serena held up her hands in apology. "_Anyone's_ better than Chuck," she chuckled lightly.

Blair's hands clenched in the blanket. Now she was getting annoyed. She had to make sure to keep checking herself so she didn't right out defend Chuck because that would for sure give her away.

She cleared her throat. "I guess I have two pieces of advice, one on each end of the spectrum."

Blair rolled her eyes. _Of course._

"If you've trusted him this far with your heart, you can tell herself his intentions were good and they probably were, and just make sure to be more careful next time. And make sure he's aware of that too, that it's not cool to just slip you something but to talk to you directly."

She sighed. "He's not much of a talker…" she muttered.

"Ah," Serena said again. "Well, in that case maybe he's just a bad guy that's lured you under his spell because he was enticing and Nate had just broken your heart. Maybe you're fooling yourself and it's best to just let go before your heart gets broken again, but this time by someone new."

Blair looked up hesitantly. "You think that would happen?" she asked, so quietly Serena hardly heard her.

"Oh, B." She clasped her hand around Blair's. "I haven't seen you this happy in weeks. If you don't think he's gonna turn out like the option 2 guy, just forgive him."

Blair forced a smile and hugged her best friend.

"Thanks, S."

"Any time, B."

...

She didn't know why but the afternoon had not brought her any closer to making a decision about Chuck. Most of her fury at him had faded overnight when she took into consideration his reasoning. Her conversation with Serena should have furthered that point, but instead all she could think of was how possible it was that Chuck was just playing her. Serena had been taking the situation generally, as if it hadn't been Chuck at all and she'd still come to the same conclusion that had been in the back of Blair's mind throughout their entire affair.

_Maybe you're fooling yourself and it's best to just let go before your heart gets broken again, but this time by someone new._

She shuddered at the thought, but forced herself to refocus when she heard the elevator doors open. She rose to her feet and walked towards the foyer.

The man didn't look familiar at all. He was tall, black, and very professional looking. He greeted her with a smile but it was clear he was very serious about whatever he was coming for.

"Blair Waldorf?"

"Yes…" she began, going off her social graces and being politely nervous. "Can I help you?"

"My name is John Nabrie. I'm from the New York Times. I'll be writing the _Night Out With_ article we're featuring you in."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh yes." She shook his hand instantly. "Please come in. I'll get you some tea."

"Oh, that's not nece-"

"Dorota!" she yelled, and then glared at the maid when she passed her by, mumbling in Polish.

"I'll only be here briefly," he clarified.

Blair spun back around and smiled warmly.

"If I had known you were coming, I would've had something ready before you walked in the door."

He smiled. "I did call earlier. I'm surprised you didn't get the message."

She closed her eyes briefly, remembering how she'd barked at Dorota to not tell her of any calls coming in for her, whether they be from Chuck or anyone else. She just wanted to be alone because she was so miserable.

"Must've slipped my mind."

Dorota bustled out with tea. He tried to decline, but both inhabitants waited till he took his cup, so he took a sip and then placed the cup back on the tray. Dorota briefly frowned but then went back into the kitchen.

"Just a few questions before the big night," he said, hoping to transition into his reason for coming.

"Yes, of course. Are you sure you don't want to sit down?" She gestured towards the sitting room.

"Yes. Thank-you."

She smiled in acceptance, waiting.

The questions came in at the usual pace. They weren't hard, just basic ones really, and it was a nice distraction to keep her mind off of Chuck. She shouldn't have depended on it solely though, because life recently had decided to throw her for a whirl and in the most distasteful ways.

"Thanks so much for your time, Miss Waldorf. I guess I'll see you and the Prince later tonight."

_Tonight. Right. Tonight was Cotillion._

"Oh, actually I'm not going with the Prince anymore," she quickly put in, pushing past the thought. "I'm going with Nate Archibald. Given our history it was only right. He is the perfect gentleman, the perfect date."

The elevator bell sounded off behind her, but she was so focused on the preciseness of her words she hardly noticed.

"Chuck Bass."

And there his hand was, his strong beautiful hand shaking the hand of the New York Times.

_He had the capability to destroy her._

"John Nabrie, New York Times."

She sensed rather than heard the hesitation in Chuck's voice, but at the last second he seemed to changed his mind.

"Am I…interrupting something?" he looked between the two.

"Yes-"

"Not at all," _New York Times_ intervened. "I was just leaving."

"You don't have to-"

"Take care, Miss Waldorf."

She couldn't stop him from leaving. She turned and waved.

"Alright, have a good one."

When he was gone, she turned to look at Chuck.

"What was that?"

His eyebrows narrowed and then he scoffed. . "Don't tell me that was the _beginning_ of your interview. If it was, I'm a little concerned for your well-being," he said mockingly.

"You scared him off!" she insisted.

"_Please_. He was on his way out. I didn't scare him, nor did I ruin anything. You're just saying that so you can get rid of me."

She avoided eye contact for awhile.

"So, if you'd just listen…" he took one of her hands in his, but she smoothly stole it out of his grasp.

"You need to leave regardless. Carter Baizen is on his way here right now. He left his jacket here yesterday," she said quickly, so he wouldn't jump to conclusions. Not that he deserved an explanation.

"The party was two days ago."

"Yes, I know, but Cece seems to be pushing very hard for Carter to take Serena to Cotillion, so she requested another. The woman is only in town a short while, so I obliged."

He looked at her skeptically.

"Fine. That doesn't change the fact that you're not going to throw me out."

Her eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"And just why is that?"

"Because I've been going through hell the last forty-eight hours without you."

Her heart skipped a beat and her anger dissolved for a moment. Quickly though, she built her face back up.

"Another line?"

"Absolutely not," he said gruffly, closing the distance between them. "And you know it."

She scoffed. "And how do I know that exactly?"

"Because I'm here, standing in your foyer, fighting for you, not embarrassing you – as much as I _could_ have – in front of the _New York Times_ because any fond words from your lips about Nate makes me mad as hell. All the women in the world at my disposal couldn't quench the amount of pain I'd be in if you went back to him."

She was silent for a moment.

"He cheated on me. Why would I go back to him?"

"You did the first time," he retorted.

Her eyes narrowed. "I think it's time you left." She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"Don't do that," he demanded in hushed tones. "Don't push me away just because I've offended you a little." She pulled her arm roughly away and glared but didn't make another attempt to walk away. "Look, I'm sorry about the morning after pill. I shouldn't have been sneaky about it, but that's just how I've functioned most of my life and I didn't want to lose you."

"You didn't want to _lose_ me?" she asked dubiously.

"Have you ever seen me work this hard to get and _keep_ a woman?"

She folded her arms across her chest but already felt herself starting to give in.

"You haven't _been_ with any women before. Just sluts," she said matter-of-factly.

He smirked.

"Where would I be without you, Waldorf? Always there to clarify things for me."

She started to smile and realized she was starting to give his a body a second look. She knew the time he noticed too because she felt a heat rush to her cheeks.

She forced herself to snap out of it.

"No!" she said suddenly and then met his surprised look with an angry glare. "I don't forgive you."

She started to walk away, but he grabbed her again, this time around the waist and pushed her against the wall. He pushed his body up flushed with hers and kissed her fiercely before she could protest. Much to her chagrin, she responded.

"Let me take you to Cotillion," he said softly, his head nestled into the crook of her neck.

The sincere request forced her to put her lecturing aside. Unconsciously, she started threading her fingers through his hair.

"You know I can't do that now. There are even more reasons than before."

He didn't want to argue with her, so he didn't jab her _New York Times_ or their need for secrecy. Instead he lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes.

"Then let me do one thing."

She looked at him with wide, curious, questioning eyes.

"Let me make love to you."

She shivered. He'd never used those words before.

"C-Carter's coming soon," she managed.

His eyes never left hers. "Give his jacket to Dorota and have her tell him you aren't home if he asks."

"But, I…" She couldn't argue, because it was the perfect solution.

He kissed her until she felt dizzy.

"Okay, okay," she said, dazedly. "Give me a minute." She left the room and came back to him a few minutes later. He took her by the hand and crept with her up onto the rooftop of her building.

She shivered. "It's freezing up here, Chuck."

He tucked her behind some of the barriers.

"Good thing you have me to warm you then." He pulled her close and kissed her heavily, sinking into her lips, indulging in her curves and the sweetness of her skin. She moaned in return and wrapped her leg around his calf, turning him on further.

"If you think I'm stripping down naked in the middle of December, you're out of your mind."

He chuckled. "On another occasion then." He winked when her head reeled back to look at him. He kissed her again to prevent another outcry followed by a lecture.

Her hands slid inside his jacket and slithered down his chest and to his back.

She groaned. "Oh, I want to touch your skin, Chuck," she whimpered.

"Now you know how _I_ feel," he muttered.

"Let's go inside," she begged.

"No." He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, then pushed her up against one of the towering barriers and pinned her there. "I want you to feel how it is like this." She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Glued to cold metal, the wind whipping around your face and under your skirt, trusting me completely to hold you or you fall to the dirty gravel at my feet."

"Isn't that an awful lot like between the buildings at school?" she asked, as casually as she could with Chuck's bulge starting to push against her from beneath his pants.

"School was ground level. If I carried you ten feet in any direction, we'd be hovering over the top of a very tall building."

Her eyes widened. "Risky."

He smiled. "Very." He leaned in to kiss her again as pushed her further against the metal.

"Wait." She pushed at his chest suddenly.

"What?"

"Condom," she demanded, and he could see the fear in her eyes. "Please." This was her test. Pass it and at least they'd end the night together. Fail and his worst fears might come to life.

Without a word he slid his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the packet. He held it out to her and huskily told her to open it. He set her down and released himself, so she could put it on herself, so she could see the proof and feel sure, but he could also see it lit the desire in her. Her eyes became hot and unfocused.

As soon as the rubber was securely on around him, he lifted her back up, evoking a squeal out of her as she clung to him. He pushed aside the tiny scrap of thong she had on so he could push into her. She moaned loudly.

His hands fisted in her hair and he pumped, faster, harder, until his jacket teared in the back because he wouldn't take it off. Her legs were bare with goosebumps decorating every inch, but he was sure her core was hot. He could feel it melting. His dick was slick with her moisture.

"_Chuck. Faster. Fuck_."

He loved that he could make her swear.

His head pressed firmly into the metal now, he thrust faster, obeying every command that slipped past her lips. It would be like this tonight, he promised himself. He would fulfill her fantasy, so she would never see Nate as her Prince Charming ever again.

He was breathing heavy once she climaxed. He hadn't come, but for the life of him he didn't care. If he needed to take a cold shower before Cotillion, so be it. He had her again. She'd forgiven him. Or, at least he was in the safety zone. That was all that mattered.

Trembling in his arms, she clung to him even as he set her down. Then she brought her mouth to his ear and whispered seductively.

"I can almost taste your dick on my tongue. Take a girl inside, will you, Chuck? I need to take a shower."

He brought his head back, wide-eyed and awestruck. He picked her up again and carried her inside the building. When they got back inside her penthouse, Carter's voice lifted up the stairs mixed with polite chirps from Dorota.

Blair gasped, but strung Chuck down the hall to her bedroom, where she locked the door, stripped herself and him and pulled him into her bathroom and shower, soon filled with steaming hot water.

"_You are fucking perfect, Blair_," he growled as she got down on her knees and sucked him till he came.

Quickly she got to her feet and kissed him passionately to cover up his cry of exaltation. She pushed him against the wall of the shower, but he turned them and pinned her instead, worshipping her body with kisses like he loved to do.

She pulled the knob of the shower out further, so it would cover their screams.

…

A/N: I realized in my research of fitting these events into the right days in the show that I had an extra day in store that did not actually exist in the real timeline. XD So, let's just pretend Cece wanted an extra party and the second one was the one where Carter forgot his jacket. XD I wasn't gonna have CB make up this chap, but like I said, I thought I had another day to work with and I did want CB to have a decent Cotillion night – or at least moment, so I think it's best this way. Drama's not all over yet. C&B's insecurities, after all, are a nasty thing. ;) They're well aware this recent incident has made it clear it isn't just sexual between them anymore.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review! =P


	8. Ballroom Dancing

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I very much appreciate your reviews, but I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to the waiting. I've been swept up into a nasty emotional whirlwind that I've been trying to come out of for the last week or so and it's seemingly impossible to do so. Because of this, after this chap I will be going on an indefinite hiatus (with the possible exception of a requested o/s I should have done months ago). If miraculously I recover soon, you will know. I will write. XD In regards to this story, as it stands I have up through chap 15 mapped out, and the next 5 chaps will consist of angsty NBC, so brace yourself for that…when it actually gets written of course. As I've already said, I really do appreciate your reviews. They make me very happy and keep this story alive. :)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.8—Ballroom Dancing**

It was a familiar place, and one they hadn't frequented in awhile. He'd wanted to take Blair here a few times, but he knew she'd send him an icy glare if he so much as suggested being seen in public. It didn't matter that it was common knowledge they were friends. He was Chuck Bass and she was Blair Waldorf. They were friends, but they didn't hang out. They just didn't. Not alone. And not frequently.

So here he'd brought Nate, because they used to come here every day during lunch. They'd talk about everything and nothing, about girls, Blair, money, popularity and their corrupted elders. Most of this was drowned out by the drugs they took, but that was neither here nor there. This was their place.

"_You_ want to take Blair to Cotillion?"

And that one shocked response was enough to deteriorate all the memories.

Chuck shrugged nonchalantly, because it wasn't like he'd expected his best friend to be onboard with this immediately.

"It's not so much that I _want_ to. I just think it looks better."

Nate's brows furrowed.

"You know, for your winning her back."

Nate flushed briefly.

"I never said I wanted to—"

"_Please_, Nathaniel," he cut him off. "I think I might miss her doesn't spell out uncertainty. I've 'I might' enough times from you; only before it usually referred to Serena."

Nate swallowed. He didn't want to think about that. Serena was with Dan. He had no shot. She'd made sure of that. And somewhere along the way he'd accepted that and when Blair broke up with him and then things cleared up a little with his father…well, he realized he might have made a ghastly mistake. Seeing Blair so light and carefree made him remember why they'd started dating to begin with, way back in middle school. It made him want her back. He wouldn't deny that shiver of anticipation when she agreed to go to Cotillion with him after he'd flaunted her heart pin and smiled like the innocent schoolboy he wasn't.

"Okay…fine," he managed. "But how does you being her escort make me look good?"

"I'm safe," he said simply.

"But you have a reputation. Don't you think Blair will be kind of pissed just at the idea of you taking her? Besides, we've planned to go together since we started dating. From my point of view, edging my way in for sentimental reasons is perfect."

Chuck smirked, but inside his stomach was churning awfully.

_Of course it's perfect, idiot. Stop reminding me._

"She'll get over it," he assured, squeezing his best friend's shoulder. "I'm an excellent dancer and you backing off will make her wonder why... It just might make her take a second look at you."

"I've betrayed her, man. Why would she take a second look? As her date, I can make the night romantic for her. Cotillion is supposed to be the best night of her life. Making it perfect is the only for sure way I can think of to win her back."

Chuck clenched his teeth and looked away briefly to hide his frustration.

"Then you haven't given the matter much thought," he said coolly a beat later. "Trust me on this. You taking the step back, being all humble and making it look like you don't deserve her because you feel so guilty will make her consider forgiving you. That'll get you a whole lot farther than trying to make the night romantic."

Nate sighed, confused. "I don't know if I should be taking relationship advice from New York's most infamous teenage womanizer."

Chuck sensed the _but_ coming and smirked.

"But…I think you could be right about this. Maybe."

"You've made a smart choice, Nathaniel. Trust me."

He nodded, accepting it. Then he nearly froze.

"Wait. Who am I taking then?"

Chuck's smirk widened into a smile.

"Angelina Brokoavich. A blonde. I can assure you she'll be thrilled."

Nate chuckled.

"You might want to re-examine your wardrobe though. My sources tell me she's wearing green."

…

Blair was still smiling uncontrollably when she got to her place on the grand staircase at The Palace. This was it. She'd finally made it to Cotillion. She was dressed to the tee and her best friend was within chatting distance, gorgeously dressed as well of course. Her future plans would be known to all those in high society. She'd be the belle of the ball in no time. She couldn't be happier.

Well, she could, but that would have to be remedied later.

She wanted Chuck as her date, she did. To be honest though, she didn't know where she'd start if they were to be presented side by side in public. There might be whispers about how strange it looked or if there was something going on between them. She already felt herself stiffen at the prospect, and not because she would want to defend him. She was Blair Waldorf; and while they were friends, they also kept a safe distance. She had her reputation to consider after all, and his too.

Nate was suitable, a gentleman, and they'd planned on going together for years. After the night was over she'd join back up with Chuck. At the very least she'd be overwhelmed at the physical pleasure he'd give her. With his recent confession though, she hoped there'd be something more. In fact, she was almost certain there would be.

Serena had pried about her good mood the second they met up in the hotel lobby. Blair knew it was dangerous to be this bubbly when she was usually so calm and composed, but she couldn't help it. She didn't give too much away, but Serena had come to a conclusion as close as it'd come.

She'd made amends with the mysterious stranger.

Of course that correct assumption had gotten her best friend begging for details and the identity of said stranger, but she wouldn't budge. Her affair with Chuck had to remain in the dark, tonight of all nights. She was glamorous and appearing on the front page of _New York Times_ with Nate Archibald would be a shining portrait of her future to come in society. No matter the state of their relationship, she had to admit they made a pretty couple.

The crowds hushed as the announcer came to the podium. A slight sweat developed on Blair's forehead at the realization that there was no escort standing across from her. She turned to look down the staircase in hopes that Nate would appear. She didn't see him at first, but then he leapt up onto the bottom steps and she relaxed. Just behind him was Chuck and her heart fluttered. She hoped she wasn't blushing as her thoughts immediately shifted to the dirty smirks he gave her. She suddenly couldn't wait until Cotillion was over. She wanted to be swept up in his arms again and kissed with a passion she'd never experienced with Nate.

When Nate stepped halfway up the staircase however and Chuck bounded up the stairs, settling into the spot just across from her however, her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Dread loomed in around her as an imaginary thundercloud hovered over her head.

She was not ready for this. _She was not ready._

But before she could say a word, the announcer had begun to address the room. There was nothing left for her to do but go through with the motions and hope no one would question her "choice" in escort.

She already felt Serena's suspicious gaze drilling a hole into the side of her head.

…

It was all polite smiles throughout the dance they'd practiced for months, but the moment free dancing commenced and he took her in his arms again, she very quickly gathered the anger that had been simmering since he escorted her up the grand staircase and into the elegant ballroom.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded, trying her very best to not look too outraged to anyone looking on.

"I would think you'd be pleased."

She turned her head to him and glared.

"And just how did you come to that conclusion?"

The amusement in his eyes and in that smirk she now detested failed to fade away.

"Why, I single-handedly managed to become your Cotillion escort. Both Nate _and_ the _New York Times_ agreed to my smooth-talking charm when I explained how much better of an escort I would make than your dashing Prince Charming."

Her eyes widened. "You told _New York Times_ about this?" she asked, her mouth agape.

He raised his eyebrows. "Would you have rather they found out with everyone else? I know I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed my picture above Nate's name in the paper."

"And what about me? Why didn't you discuss this with me ahead of time? I needed time to prepare for it."

His eyes narrowed.

"Why should you need to prepare? You wanted this. We both did."

"I never said I wanted you as my Cotillion date," she spat.

He tensed at her words and her venomous tone but continued gliding with her across the dance floor.

"You never told me that," he said, his voice lowering dangerously.

"You never asked."

"Because whenever I told you I wanted to escort you, you gave me a reason why I couldn't. And those reasons _never_ involved you not wanting me to."

"Did it ever occur to you that there was a reason behind me always rejecting your advances? That maybe I was doing it to be nice?"

He scoffed. "_You_? Being _nice_? For _my_ sake? _Please_. You forget who you're talking to."

She forced him to stop dancing, halting her feet before he could move them another step.

"What we have is supposed to remain _private_, Chuck. You know that. You _know_ how important that is for both of us. And you completely violated that by showing up here unannounced as my escort."

His eyes narrowed.

"No one suspects anything is going on between us. Not just because I'm escorting you at Cotillion."

"Maybe not," she allowed, "but you have a reputation, one that completely tarnishes mine. Appearing in the _New York Times_ with you? I'd rather be caught dead than have anyone come to the conclusion that I prefer you not only over Nate, but over the Prince."

He stiffened considerably.

"Nate betrayed you," he said coldly. "He _cheated_ on you."

"And you undermined and manipulated what was supposed to be the best night of my life." She stepped away from him. "From my point of view, you don't look much different."

Her retreating form was the last thing he saw as the couples continued to dance around him.

…

Fury threatening to engulf her, the last thing she needed was to be confronted by her minions about who her escort was that evening.

"Ladies," she said politely with that not so subtle glare of hers that told them to get lost.

"What's with Chuck?"

"Yeah, I thought Nate was supposed to be your escort."

"And before that the Prince."

"Of all the people you could have chosen—"

Blair raised her hand quickly to silence them.

"Enough!" All the girls snapped their mouths shut. "I shouldn't have to explain myself to you. Chuck is a friend, however warped he may be. After I realized how awkward it was bound to be with Nate, I did try to contact the Prince again, but he was unavailable. I saw no other choice than to request this favor. Chuck owes me anyways."

The girls exchanged glances.

"Still, of all the guys…?"

Blair glared.

"You're Blair Waldorf, Queen Bee of the Upper East Side? You should've been able to get any guy with a snap of your fingers."

"You're testing my patience, Penelope. You should remember I know all your secrets and where exactly you stand on the hierarchy, which will be at the bottom if you're not careful."

Penelope appeared only slightly daunted by the threat. She was Blair's biggest problem. The most arrogant of all her minions. Tonight of all nights she did not want to have to deal with her.

"Hello, ladies."

The voice came from behind them, exiting the ballroom into the hallway where they stood. All four turned to see the blonde standing before them, charming smile plastered on his face. Blair felt his presence first as he lightly placed his hand on her waist.

Suddenly the queen's minions were not so subtly blushing where they stood and Blair had to roll her eyes. For all their nasty accusations and suspicious inquiries, they were hopeless in the face of Nate Archibald.

"I was just wondering if I could steal your queen away?" he asked them, sharing a meaningful glance with Blair as he did so.

Earlier in the night she would have refused his offer, but with her minions' permission gushing from their mouths in the wake of Nate's sparkling blue eyes and pleasant demeanor, she found there was nothing more she wanted to do than leave with him. She needed fresh air and she certainly didn't want it with Chuck Bass, or with anyone else who would raise suspicions.

"Thank-you," she murmured as soon as they'd walked a safe distance from the group.

"I thought you could use a breather," he said, his hand still lightly wrapped around her waist.

"Brilliant deduction, Archibald." He smiled. "Where are we going?" she inquired.

"A few floors up," he told her. "The lobby up there extends out onto a wide veranda, and I have it on good authority that it's usually vacant this time of night."

"And who told you that?"

He turned to her and gave her a knowing smile.

"Ah, of course. Chuck."

…

A/N: It's tragic really, how much I want to continue this story right now. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed. As soon as I'm back to my old self an update should be on its way. For the time being, there are many other great CB fics being written. I'm sure those will make you forget all about this one. ;)


	9. Inconsistencies

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.9—Inconsistencies **

After standing a couple minutes shell-shocked in the middle of the ballroom dance floor, Chuck went out into the hall to see if he could find Blair. He scanned every corridor in the vicinity but he could not find her. It unnerved him. When he finally managed to get one of Blair's minions to spill, he felt as if his entire body had turned to ice.

Nate.

She'd gone with Nate.

Blair had gone with Nate.

_Upstairs to the veranda._

He wanted to punch something. It was as bad as _his_ line to always take girls up to the roof. "Gentleman" or not, he knew Nate wanted to leave with Blair tonight. Beneath her pristine, bitch exterior, Blair was a romantic to the nth degree. And they were not really together. Certainly not after that argument on the dance floor. He was in serious danger of losing her completely.

_No_, he told himself. Blair wouldn't do that. Even if their relationship was indefinable, she would not let herself be accused of cheating. She wouldn't do anything to suggest that, even to him.

Chagrined though, he realized he would have to apologize. He hardly ever did that. In fact, Blair had been the only one recently he'd done it for. One of these days he'd end up looking in the mirror and being disgusted for how easily he let her push him around on this chess board she'd ordained to make him fail. He was the king on the other side, and she had no intention of protecting him.

It had been so foolproof in his mind, tonight. It had just made sense. He really thought the obstacles were the _Times_ and Nate. There had been so much intimacy between him and Blair recently that it didn't even occur to him that she wouldn't want him as her escort. It _felt_ like they were together, even if they were sneaking around. He liked that feeling. When she was in his arms those butterflies that she'd demanded he get rid of fluttered wildly, and he didn't want to give that up. Especially when she'd made it clear she shared those pretty little insects.

Now he didn't know where she stood. The thought of not having her and of having to watch her with Nathaniel day in and day out threatened to swallow him whole. He couldn't stand it.

The trip to the upstairs balcony proved in vain. They weren't there either and that worried him more than ever before. It made sweat droplets start to appear on his forehead. Hopelessly, he returned to the ballroom and reached for a drink. He was going to need it. His body was still freezing, but now it was burning at the same time.

He swallowed hard and his eyes widened when he noticed Nate walk back into the ballroom. Blair wasn't with him, but he saw a glimpse of a brunette brush past him in the hall and had a feeling it was her. He couldn't appear too eager though. He was supposed to be nonchalant, uncaring. Nate couldn't get suspicious. Then he'd be in even deeper water.

The blonde's eyes caught his and he stalked over to Chuck. There was something almost unrecognizable in his blue eyes, like…anger.

"Chuck," he bit out.

Chuck raised his eyebrows in a forced effort to maintain his innocence.

"Yes, Nathaniel?" he asked casually, taking another sip of his drink.

"What the hell were you thinking bringing Blair here as her escort?"

He pursed his lips, then smirked.

"As I recall, I didn't _bring_ her here. I arrived. And as to the nature of which I arrived…? I wanted it to be a surprise." He smiled.

Nate scoffed, but took a drink and stood beside his best friend, turning to watch the dancers as Chuck was absentmindedly doing.

"It was a mistake. I never should have listened to you," he grumbled.

"What's gotten into you?" Chuck nearly laughed. "Did you… have you…" he hesitated. "Did Blair come crying to you?" he asked mockingly.

Nate darted a glare in his direction.

"She needed some fresh air. The whole situation was making her almost claustrophobic."

Chuck felt his stomach drop. He thought he was going to throw up.

"She'll get over it." He shrugged.

"It's _Cotillion_, Chuck. This is one night I just don't think she can get over."

He sighed. "Where is she?" he asked, more eager than ever to apologize and do whatever was necessary to win her back.

Nate waved towards the entrance vaguely.

"She kept walking down the hall when I came in here."

"You didn't go with her?" Chuck swallowed.

Nate paused and then turned to look at him.

"I wanted to give you a piece of my mind first."

Chuck smirked. "I suppose I could find it in myself to apologize…" he drawled.

"I thought I'm supposed to come off as the hero," Nate interjected before Chuck could walk away, but it was obvious the tension was leaving him.

"You will," Chuck guaranteed. "You're getting the great Chuck Bass to apologize. Nothing's more heroic than that." He winked and headed for the exit before Nate could say another word.

….

Blair was shaking. She needed to go home. She needed to grab her coat, head for the doors and just go home. She was confused and emotional and she just needed to leave. More importantly than anything else she needed to not run into anyone she knew. There was no telling what impulsive action she might do.

"Blair!"

_No_.

She'd been almost to the coat closet. She'd been almost _there_. No one was around to see her close to tears or angrily talking to herself. And then he had to show up. That Chuck Basstard had to show up and ruin all her carefully laid plans for self-recovery.

Stiffly, she turned around.

"Look, Blair—"

"Chuck, I don't want to hear it."

"Just listen."

"I'm going home."

"Just give me a second."

"No."

"Let me explain."

"Chuck!" her eyes were wide with rage she wasn't feeling towards him and he froze at the sight of her. His mouth hung wide open as he waited for her next move. He was completely frozen. She'd only raised her voice but it felt as if it had the ability to cancel out any attempt to win her over he could possibly make.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to calm down, but in that moment she knew there was only one thing that could dissuade him.

She crossed the short distance between them, grabbed hold of the lapels of his jacket, and kissed him hard.

Chuck responded, startled at first but then he quickly took hold of the kiss, deepening it, making her breathless. It felt as if a dam had broken loose. Like all the fears and anxieties he'd experienced for at least the last half hour would dissipate. If Blair was willing to still acknowledge her physical attraction for him, he knew that was something he could work with. He could still make tonight memorable for her, and not just with what he was now certain was inevitable.

Suddenly Blair broke away as quickly as she had started. Chuck's fears crept up again and he thought she'd dismiss the whole thing as a giant mistake only used to get him to shut up and leave her alone. But after having looked down all the corridors from where they were standing she seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Not here," she said in a hushed whisper, dragging her to the coat room and inside to the very back.

Before he could ask questions she was kissing him and he decided not to argue. He could use to his advantage. Their attraction to each other was instantaneous. No argument she gave him after this would prove otherwise, because this was following not only walking off with Nate but also fuming at him on the dance floor beforehand.

He unzipped her dress slowly as she backed him up further till they hit the wall.

"On the wall," she murmured.

"No," he said, once her dress had pooled to the floor. He undid his bowtie quickly and slid out of his jacket. He laid the black garment on the ground, so she wouldn't get rug burn and gestured to it.

She was hesitant, but his penetrating gaze made her do it, made her consent to the small bit of romance he was trying to induce in this risqué situation. It made her heart break even more.

"Will you come for me, baby?" he whispered huskily against her neck when he was finally hovering over her naked with his condom snugly fitted over him.

She shivered beneath him.

"No talking."

She kissed him to silence him and he made use of the silence by stripping her of her bra and panties. He left the necklace on, just like he'd done at her seventeenth birthday party. Sexual escapades came and went, but that necklace felt like a stamp on her skin, like he had every right to be just where he was because she was wearing his necklace.

"Now," she demanded, unable to take the slow sensual torture of his nipping and licking all over her skin a minute longer. His thumb circling her most sensitive spot was driving her mad in addition.

"I thought you said no talki—"

"_Now_, Chuck," she demanded, sinking her nails purposely into his back and dragging them down to his ass.

Intoxicated by her and hardening further by the physical pain she induced, he thrust up into her, both of them gasping at the sensation. She would've made further demands, but he acted without direction, request or insistence. He fulfilled her every desire, thrusting faster when she would have said so and slower when she was in need of the sensual torturous dance that she so craved near the end. Then just when she couldn't stand it any longer he pounded into her, hard and fast, like the grand finale fireworks on the fourth of July. She clutched at him as if she would fall even though she lay flat on the ground with his jacket to swallow her sweat with the silk lining.

"Chuck. _Chuck. Oh my god_."

"Blair. Fuck."

Her cry of ecstasy when she finally came was covered by another searing kiss, and then he collapsed on top of her, his forehead sinking into the bruising carpet. She felt almost dizzy, but her head turned toward his and for a few moments she nestled into the side of his face, soothing his quick breathing as her fingers skidded down his back and she moaned softly in his ear.

…

Forty-five minutes had passed, and despite himself Nate was starting to worry. It was completely reasonable that Blair and Chuck were fine, that they had even left for their own respective homes. But something felt uneasy about the situation. Wouldn't Blair come back to thank him for their walk? Despite what had occurred during their time together…

And what about Chuck? Wouldn't he return to report that all was well and steal his original date back away to spend the night with – or rather, the next few hours with?

But no. Not so much as a text even.

Serena was standing on the other side of the room with her grandmother, looking bitter. He didn't want to interrupt the tension over there unless absolutely necessary.

So instead he walked out into the hall and headed for the coat room. If both their coats were gone he would know they'd left and he would stop worrying. Maybe he'd even take a few girls out on the dance floor. It was the least he could do in Blair's absence, though he wondered if maybe dancing with Blair's _minions_ and not _Blair_ would bite him in the ass.

No matter his lack of caring for the hierarchy at school, it was important to Blair and it would be an insult if he were to choose them over her. It wouldn't matter if she only hadn't gotten a dance because she'd been unavailable.

Halfway down the final hall before the coat room, Nate stopped stock still in his tracks, because there exiting the room was first Blair and then slowly Chuck. He was giving her plenty of distance it looked like and that sent up red flags for reasons he wouldn't acknowledge.

The first conclusion one could come to upon seeing two people exit a room suspiciously while no one else was inside was… Well, he knew what it was. But that was impossible, he assured himself. Blair only tolerated Chuck. It was why she'd been so disgusted that he'd sprung this surprise on her tonight about being her escort unannounced.

And Chuck was…Chuck Bass. He didn't have feelings. Not for girls at any rate. Not for anyone except for him and his father. He was, however, prone to taking advantage of girls if they didn't come willingly to his sexual advances.

Nate swallowed.

_Rape_.

Chuck had never put pressure on Blair in that way. Nate wondered now if that was only out of respect for him, and not for Blair. It made knots turn in his stomach at the thought of his best friend forcing himself on his ex-girlfriend, the girl he'd loved for years, the _only_ one he'd ever dated. He wouldn't stand for it if it were true. He'd call the authorities.

Common sense told him the Bass name alone would get Chuck out of it and there was no way around that. But there had to be some justice. Chuck crossed lots of lines, but this was simply inexcusable. If the brutal truth was that Chuck had never approached Blair sexually because she'd been attached to his best friend, he hated to think what had happened in that room.

At that moment he wanted to pummel his best friend into the floor for every accusation and assumption his mind was creating that seemed shatteringly clear.

But, for a brief moment, he gained control of himself and wheeled back around towards the ballroom. If anyone knew if Chuck was a danger to Blair, Serena would. Those two told each other everything. He wouldn't act rashly until he'd confronted the best friend. Chuck had ruined Blair's night enough. He didn't need to add to it. Some semblance of this night needed to be salvaged.

"Serena!" he called out when he was halfway across the dancefloor.

She turned to look at him, relieved by the distraction.

"Nate," she said with a half-smile on her face. "I haven't seen you for awhile. What have you been—"

"Can we talk?" he asked.

She frowned, sensing the waves of urgency rolling off of him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, worried now herself.

He glanced at Cece, who seemed poised to return to the conversation with her aggravated granddaughter.

"Can we talk…in private?" he emphasized.

Her eyes widened. "Yes, of course. What is it—"

"It's about Blair."

Her eyes widened again. Her jaw dropped briefly but she snapped it shut. She glanced at her grandma briefly and moved past her.

"Excuse me, grandma," she murmured and took Nate's hand, eagerly dragging him out of the small corner and leading the way to the lobby as soon as they'd exited the ballroom.

…

A/N: In case you didn't catch it, there is more to B's sudden forgiveness than meets the eye; and, most likely, it is less severe than a potential sleeping with Nate. Hope you'll stay tuned. =)


	10. Complications of the Heart

A/N: Alright, I've gotten a couple of anxious reviews, so I figured I should clarify a few things.

**YES **– this story is going beyond Cotillion, though I think my interpretation of 'AU' and some of yours is a bit different. But this fic stopped being a 'missing scenes' fic as soon as I put in plot once Cotillion was readily approaching.

**YES/NO** – I'd rather not say at the moment if CB are gonna end up together because of where I'm at in the story. That would ruin any surprises with this whole arc I've started to create. BUT, you should keep in mind that I've never been a fan of Nair and CB always end up together in my stories. So, even if they do get torn apart and NB get smashed together, it will probably be very temporary. Don't give up on the story just yet! It is not meant to be a tragedy. Heh.

(**To guest reviewer, Raina**, in particular: check out my profile if you want to know why I'm not updating multiple fics at once. If you're still confused, I strongly suggest you get an actual account on this site and send me a PM. It's much easier to answer questions w/o telling the whole world.)

**ANOTHER NOTE TO GUEST REVIEWERS**: PLEASE get a real account. And if not, just contact me on twitter ( chuckandblair90) when you want other stories updated. I love the enthusiasm I get from you regarding other stories, but it's somewhat offensive when you read my other stories just to tell me you want other stories updated instead. On occasion some of you even deliberately insult whatever story I updated because it's not the one you wanted. That is _not_ the way to get me to update the story that you want. If I do, it's just because I was planning to anyways. You do NOT have to read every update I post. Check out the title, summary and key characters I'm using, all of which is visible on my profile and in the notifications ff sends out. If what you see is not to your liking, chances are you shouldn't check it out. I want reviews, but I want them tailored to the story. I'd rather have hardly any than a whole bunch that have nothing to do with the story. Like I said, all of this can be avoided if you just get your own ff account or contact me on twitter since I am almost always on there 24/7. Heh. Strongly consider this, all of you! And know that I love all my fabulous readers. Thanks for the support! Who knows if my stories would have gotten so far without you? ;)

And now, on with the story. ;) Brace yourself, angst is a'comin, but the worst should be over in about three chaps from now. :P

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.10—Complications of the Heart**

She couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved as when the car door shut behind her and she was left in silence the long way home from Cotillion.

What a disaster this night had been. From Chuck's little "surprise" to her…encounter with Nate…to her run-in with Chuck that she should've seen coming a mile away. She'd started that fire to shut him up, but she surrendered herself to the passion because of what he did to her. He was magnetic. He drew her to him like a moth to the flame. She succumbed every time, even when she tried to be the seductress. His eyes on her, as hot as she was, always melted her. It was a miracle she could prance around him in her heels in the shadows of her bedroom without losing her balance.

She hated to think all of that was gone just because of both of their untimely mistakes tonight. It made her sick just thinking about it.

At first more relief washed over her when the elevator doors to her penthouse opened. Dorota had left hours ago too, which made it even better. She could cry herself to sleep and hopefully go shopping in the morning with Serena. That would solve everything. Tiffany's always made her feel better.

All these pleasant thoughts went out the window when she reached the top of the stairs and found a trail of rose petals and candles lighting the hallway all the way down to the servants stairs which also led to the roof.

A lump formed in her throat. Tears pricked at her eyes. Either Nate was going way out of his way, or Chuck was trying to make up for the disaster he'd caused tonight. She guessed it was the latter. Nate had never been very romantic, despite his words tonight and kind, gentlemanly actions following.

She slipped out of her heels and carried them to her bedroom door, incredibly tempted to just blow out all the candles, stash them in her closet and shut herself in. He would get suspicious though and she knew it.

So instead she dropped the shoes off and followed the trail of candles and rose petals. They ended at the servants entrance but there were boxes of chocolates going up the stairs with arrows drawn on them. She shivered, leaving the boxes where they were and heading for the roof. When she opened the door and finally stood out on the rooftop, she had to catch her breath.

There he stood. And with him was a quartet of violinists, instruments in hand and a piano player seated at a baby grand. She wondered how in the world he'd gotten the large piano up here. He was Chuck Bass though. He had his ways. The romantic candlelight dinner set up spoke volumes of that. The posts lining the entire perimeter with white Christmas lights draped over them only emphasized that.

He was so apologetic. He had gone out. The only thing more impressive and meaningful than this would be a love confession.

"Chuck," she breathed.

At the sound of her voice, Chuck turned around. He smiled and held out his hand to her. When she finally took a step closer to him the musicians started to play.

She looked around once more and then back at him. He was still smiling, no doubt greatly relieved that she was so starstruck and not running in the other direction.

"Do you approve?" he asked when the distance had finally closed between them.

She nodded. "It's breathtaking."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

Shivers ran down her back, rippling through her arms and legs and curling up against her neck.

Gently he guided her to the table. Her favorite meal that her mother never let her have was before her. A bouquet of peonies sat in a vase in the middle of the table, a bottle of Dom sat in the ice bucket just off the side of the table at Chuck's feet. He gestured at it and she nodded, pleased.

He spent the meal staring at her and how beautiful she was. He could sense some tension in her but he was confident it would be gone by the time dinner was finished. He'd seen her eyes light up when she saw what he'd created. It would only be a matter of time. Then it could be like Cotillion when he'd confessed so much to her and they'd made love both where they were now and in the shower with Carter just one floor beneath them. He longed for that moment again.

"You weren't expecting to see me again tonight," he remarked, smirking.

She laughed. "No. I was planning to sleep," she said, eyes twinkling when she looked up at him.

He smiled, his hand reaching across the table to cover hers. She swallowed when he touched her and tensed slightly. That was his cue.

"Blair…I want to apologize for what I did tonight." He looked up at her and slowly she looked up at him. "You have to know I had good intentions. I never meant to embarrass you. I thought you wanted me to escort you. It never occurred to me that…"

"Chuck."

"No, let me get this out."

She swallowed.

"Here." He stood to his feet, still holding her hand and walked around the table, pulling her up out of her seat.

"Chuck?" she asked, confused.

He nodded to the musicians and they switched to the classic that they'd been instructed to play at this moment.

Chuck pulled Blair away from the table and began to dance with her.

She could feel herself shaking.

"You're trembling," he murmured, closing the distance between them so the side of his face was pressed against her. His hands lowered to the small of her back as her arms loosely dangled around his neck.

She swallowed again. "Chuck…"

"I'll do anything to make this up to you, Blair," he swore, cradling her more to him.

She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent tears from coming out.

"Chuck," she choked.

He pulled back.

"What is it?" he asked, tenderly wiping away one tear that had managed to get away.

"Why are you doing this?"

His brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I said some horrible things to you on the dance floor at Cotillion."

"You were upset," he reasoned, his insides clenching.

"Yes…but you made me that way."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm trying to make up for that, Blair. _Let me_."

She squeezed her eyes shut again and shook her head.

"Why do you want to make up for it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he whispered.

More scared than she'd ever been in her life, Blair looked up slowly at him. She saw the love in his eyes and knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth.

He cradled her face in his hands. She felt the tremor in them, despite how calm and self-assured his face looked, particularly those penetrating hazel eyes.

"I lo—"

"No! Stop!" She stepped back out of reach.

He froze. His hands still in mid-air, they slowly fell to his side. He'd gone too fast. He'd thought she needed a declaration, a confession of some sort, definitely more than an apology and a romantic set up. She needed proof of a real commitment from him. What better way than to finally acknowledge what he felt for her, to believe in it, to want it and need it, and to tell her that. She wouldn't have to worry of him ever living up to what his reputation portrayed. She wouldn't have to worry about him ever walking away from her.

But apparently…he'd miscalculated.

She swallowed, finally regaining her breath and the panic that had suddenly consumed her.

"There's something I have to tell you."

_When they stepped out of the elevator three floors up, Blair breathed a sigh of relief. It was so good to be above the chaos of downstairs. Here she didn't have to worry about having to deal with her angry emotions at Chuck, making a fool of herself amongst the socially elite in society or having to explain herself to her minions. She didn't have to worry about Serena pestering her either._

_Here it was just her and Nate. Ever since she'd found out he cheated on her with Serena at the Shepherd's wedding she'd been a little tense whenever she was with him. When it became clear he wasn't interested in pursuing their relationship and was just staying with her because he was a "good guy" and was trying to appease her family, she had decided she would never forgive him. She would never have thought that right now this was the only place she wanted to be. _

_At home would be good too, but for some reason she didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be with someone who she could escape with, someone that wasn't so involved already._

"_Thanks again for this, Archibald. I needed to get out of there," she said as they walked across the empty lobby towards the glass doors that led to the veranda._

_He smiled. "No problem."_

_He was always the good guy, she contemplated. Helping anyone in need if he saw the opportunity. At least that's what she'd thought of him before these last few months, maybe a couple years ago now that she thought about it. Back when he was still in love with her and not with Serena, when she held his rapt attention._

_Nate pushed one of the glass doors open and held it in place, waiting for her to walk through. Blair nodded in thanks. Then she turned to look at the view and caught her breath in her throat. She felt shivers and decided she would blame it on the temperature. It was December after all. It was a miracle there wasn't snow on the ground yet. It was definitely cold enough for it, she thought._

"_Wow," she breathed, running her hands up and down her arms._

_Wordlessly, he stripped himself of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She smiled slightly and pulled it closer around her._

"_Thanks," she murmured. He just smiled in return and gently guided her towards the edge of the veranda so she could brace herself against the railing and get a better view._

"_You could probably get a better view from your bedroom window, but I still think it's pretty magical," he chuckled lightly._

_She turned to him and smiled. "It's perfect."_

_He didn't want to address it, but he knew he needed to. It was the only way he would get anywhere with her, friend or otherwise._

"_Blair…I have to say I am partially to blame for Chuck appearing as your escort tonight," he said regretfully._

_Her eyebrows furrowed, confused for a second. Then it dawned on her._

"_Oh Nate." She suddenly put her hand over his, dissuading him from this unnecessary thought. "Don't apologize. It was all Chuck's doing. He shouldn't have put you in the position that you had to consider letting him take me. Or, arriving and stating that he was my escort." She rolled her eyes._

"_Still. I had a choice in the matter," he said, his eyes drifting down to where their hands met on the railing. Blair noticed it then and pulled back._

_She cleared her throat and looked out at the city. She didn't know why she was trying so hard to make Nate feel better about himself. All he'd done was get her away from the party after all._

"_Chuck can be very deceptive," she said quietly. _

_An awkward silence descended upon them, and Blair wondered if it had been so wise to go with him after all. Finally Nate shifted and turned towards her._

"_Blair, I want you to know how sorry I am," he paused. "For everything." _

_He looked at her meaningfully and Blair suddenly felt sorry for him. She didn't forgive him by any means, but it was the first time she'd truly felt anything genuine from him in a long time. And it was for her benefit, not because he thought it was the right thing to do or he was pleasing his parents._

_She smiled a little in return._

"_Thank-you, Nate."_

_He took a deep breath and laughed a little nervously._

"_Truth be told, the only reason I went along with what Chuck suggested tonight was because he assured me it would help in me getting you back."_

_Her eyes widened and she looked away._

_Blunt, wasn't he, she mused._

_The silence descended again._

"_I can't take any more drama tonight, Nate," she said quietly._

_He shifted and closed some distance between them. Then he brushed his down the side of her face._

"_Your skin is so soft, you know," he said softly. "I'd forgotten just how much you look like a porcelain doll and feel as soft as a baby."_

_She looked up at him hesitantly. "I'm not sure how much I consider that a compliment, Archibald."_

_She just barely got out his last name. That was something she did with Chuck, or she used as a formal-casualty. Not with her boyfriend. Never with Nate. Not that she could remember. She fawned over and doted on him constantly. She rarely even called him Nathaniel. That was more Chuck's labeled name for him, she thought._

_But Chuck was completely the last thing on your mind right now._

"_I'm really sorry, Blair," he said again. "I regret everything I've ever done to hurt you. It was selfish," he paused, looking her over closely. "I didn't realize how good I had it until it became obvious, you were with someone else and you looked much happier without me."_

_Her brows furrowed confused. "Na—" But the word was lost on her lips as his face descended down to hers and he kissed her. She was frozen in shock and he pulled away when she didn't respond._

_After awhile Blair cleared her throat delicately._

"_I don't forgive you, Nate. You can't just waltz in and expect that because you helped me escape from the craziness downstairs that I'll jump into your arms and everything can be the way it was before. You and I haven't been happy together for a long time."_

"_I know that."_

_She stared at him helplessly. "Then why did you kiss me? What is all this? Why are you trying to get me back? If this is just some sick possessive thing because you want what you can't have, you can forget it."_

"_Hey. That's not what this is."_

"_No?"_

"_No."_

"_Then what is it?" she demanded._

_He swallowed and then plunged headfirst into the deep waters._

"_I love you."_

_She just stared at him for awhile, not knowing how the hell she was supposed to respond. Eventually, on shaky limbs she turned away to lean her body against the railing and look out at the city, focusing on the traffic jam down in the street._

"_Do you…still love me?" he asked cautiously._

_She closed her eyes and swallowed. "Nate…"_

"_Because you said you did." He gently reached for her hand and made her look down at where his hand covered hers. "Always have, always will, remember?"_

_She turned to look at him, tears starting to form in her eyes._

"_And I know I did everything wrong, but even after you found out what happened with Serena—"_

"_That you cheated on me," she put out bluntly._

_He nodded. "Yes," he continued, refusing to be thwarted. "Even after that you tried to make it work. I didn't try. Now I want to. I want it more than anything."_

_She swallowed. "Oh Nate…"_

_He took the opportunity again and this time she responded. He pulled her to him and kept kissing her. It had happened. He had worked for it and she was his. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. He could stop punishing himself now because everything was going to be okay._

_The waging war inside Blair had ceased completely. But as she continued to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her warm, the feeling of love and maybe starting anew started to fade within her. What was she doing? He was doing and saying all the right things, and when she listened to him she wanted to believe him. She wanted to make it work. Because finally he really wanted her again. They could start over. Right now they could do it._

_But thoughts of Chuck rose in her mind, the way he touched her and talked to her and looked at her. How she felt about him didn't match what she felt for Nate, now or ever before. What she was feeling now with Nate could just be some sort reminiscence for what could have been. Either way guilt had started to consume her. She didn't want to lose Chuck. But worse than that she didn't want to be accused of cheating. That was more dreadful than anything else, even if she had never called Chuck Bass her boyfriend._

_She ripped herself away from Nate's bruising, passionate kiss that she'd been indulged in and breathed heavy._

"_What is it?" he asked when he realized she hadn't pulled away because she needed air but because she wanted to stop._

_She swallowed. "I have a boyfriend," she forced out, hoping he would buy it since he'd already made it clear he assumed she'd moved on. "I'm not going to be accused of cheating. I can't be. Not after what you did to me."_

"_Blair, wait-"_

_He reached for her, but she was faster and she went out into the lobby, his jacket falling off her shoulders and to the stone ground of the balcony._

_Quickly Nate raced to her side._

"_Let me take you back down. Don't go alone," he pleaded. "You need someone tonight. You do."_

_She sighed, trying to get a hold of her strong emotions. Every single one was raging inside her. What she needed was to go home and be alone, figure things out and decide what to do next. Confiding in anyone with this information was absolutely unacceptable and frightening to think about._

"_You can take me back downstairs, Nate. Then I want you to leave me alone. I have some thinking to do."_

_He nodded. "Okay."_

_The elevator doors opened, but the confines of them looked horrifying suddenly, so she turned around and crossed the floor to the grand staircase._

"_Come on. We're taking the stairs."_

Chuck stood staring at her for the longest time. It tortured her to see his face so expressionless, the wheels in his head turning more with each word she said. She was scared for what he would do and visibly swallowed.

"Say something," she said softly, unable to stand it any longer.

"You kissed him," he stated, his voice monotone.

She gulped. "Well…technically he kissed me, but—"

"Blair." His eyes narrowed.

Her shoulders slumped. "Yes. I kissed him."

"Did it mean anything?" he demanded, but she could hear the hurt in his voice.

"No. Absolutely not. It was just in the moment. I was grateful to him for getting me away from the craziness in the ballroom. It didn't mean a thing."

"Like when you lashed out at me when we were dancing?" he accused.

"Yes," she encouraged. "Just like that. I didn't mean any of that either."

His eyes narrowed. "If you didn't mean any of it, why did you say it? You must have meant _some_ of it. Are you ashamed to be seen with me, Blair?"

The question caught her off-guard, because yes, she was terrified of being seen with him. It wasn't so much shameful to herself, but of how people would look at her and how much risk to her heart there would be if it didn't work out. Even her position as Queen Bee might be threatened.

"So then," he continued before she could say a word. "Based on your silence I have to gather that yes, some of it was true; which means that at least some of kissing Nate was because you _wanted_ to, not just because you were _grateful_."

"Chuck…" she whispered hopelessly, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Not that it matters," he said, the tone of his voice changing abruptly. "After all, it's just sex between us, right?"

"_What_?" her voice broke.

"I don't have feelings. You know that. And I certainly couldn't love you. I can't love anybody. I don't know how to love."

"I don't understand… these past weeks… and tonight…" she gestured around at the romantic set-up he'd created for her. "What about all of this?"

He was stone cold for a moment but then he slid into an easy smile.

"Role play," he said simply.

"_What_?" she rasped.

"I wanted to make things interesting," he informed her. "Adding a little faux drama and romance does that, does it not?"

Her eyes narrowed, angrily defensive now if what he was saying was true.

"So you ruined my Cotillion on _purpose_? Just to make things _interesting_?" she fumed.

He smirked. "You did say once that no one likes being on the ground floor of a scandal like I do. And I believe I remarked with how very much I sometimes love being the bitch everyone loathes so much."

"You bastard," she cursed.

He raised his eyebrows. "You're the one sleeping with me."

"I didn't want to!" she said, outraged. "But you came after me with your damn butterflies and that sparkly necklace and then just kept tracking me down day after day. Nate didn't want me anymore and it _looked_ like you did. Was that all a lie too? You _never_ sleep with a woman more than once."

He shrugged. "I have to admit I did feel like I was in a rut, and you certainly weren't going to go anywhere. It was the perfect set up. And I knew you wouldn't tell a soul, so I never had to worry about Nate finding out. You had the womanizing Chuck Bass at your beck and call, and I had the opportunity to play mentor to a freshly popped cherry. Now anyone you ever sleep with will know that Chuck Bass taught you everything you know."

"You _ass_," she seethed.

He sighed and brought his arm up to look at his watch.

"I was hoping that this little faux romantic set up could end up with us fucking in front of these talented musicians-" The musicians suddenly stopped playing and looked at each other warily. "But I'm no longer in the mood. Since you're clearly going to get back together with Nate any day now and aren't prone to cheating—"

"I never said I was going to get back with Nate!" she protested.

He ignored her.

"I think this little affair we've had going needs to come to an end."

Her jaw dropped, her heart breaking, tears barely staying confined to her eyes.

"Goodnight, Waldorf. It's been a pleasure."

He nodded to her and to the musicians and made his exit.

Slowly she sank down onto the chair she had vacated and burst into tears. The musicians began to play again, but she almost immediately snapped her head up and demanded they leave, which they then did in a hurry.

What a disaster this night was. She _hated_ Cotillion.

…

A/N: Don't worry yourselves too much over the events in this chap! This too shall pass. ;)


	11. Flip of the Coin

A/N: Kind of a filler chapter just to get NS caught up, or as caught up as they're going to be for awhile, since last we saw them Nate wanted to murder Chuck and Serena was panicking over her best friend. XD

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.11—Flip of the Coin**

"Mystery guy is Chuck." She waited until Blair closed her eyes in silent acknowledgement. "Isn't he?"

Blair didn't respond, but she could see her visibly swallow.

Serena stood at the door watching her for awhile before she approached her on the bed.

She had put the dots together. Nate had been so furious and she couldn't understand why. Blair could take care of herself, especially when it came to Chuck. Sure, she had slept with him on a few occasions, but both times she'd been in a very vulnerable state. Serena was so sure that her recent bubbliness and excessive confidence had been due to being free of Nate and all the stress of what he'd been causing her. But more importantly than that, it was finding a new guy. She'd shown every sign of a girl fresh in a new relationship, unable to stop smiling, just short of gushing about this new miraculous male that had seemingly dropped right into her lap.

Not in a million years could she have imagined it was Chuck.

When Nate more or less confessed that he wanted Blair back, at first she was ecstatic. Finally he was being the guy Blair needed him to be. But he had screwed up a lot. Blair was right to not take him back immediately. But she would eventually. That she was certain of. Blair had loved Nate for so long, since before they even started dating back in middle school. Whoever this new fancy was of hers, it wouldn't compare to her long-lasting love. Nate was finally ready to commit to her again. It was only a matter of time.

But she was here now, because she needed the truth. She needed to understand. And she told herself that even if she was silently judging Blair sleeping around with Chuck – because what else would they be doing? – she would try her very best not to show it. She'd gotten news from Dorota that Blair had kept herself locked in her bedroom for days now, and not because someone was inside with her. Chuck had clearly broken her heart. What she needed now was support and comfort, not judgment.

"You can tell me, B," she murmured, nudging her shoulder against hers. "I won't judge."

Blair sighed shakily. "Under normal circumstances I would pretend nothing is wrong and stubbornly stick to my denial of whatever excuse I could come up with. Especially since, despite what you say, I would be convinced that you would be secretly judging behind those blue eyes of yours."

Serena sighed and cuddled her best friend close.

"I have to admit I'm not prone to thinking highly of Chuck, as is the case with most people; and for the life of me I can't think of a single reason why you've been sneaking around with him, but your heart is broken and I'm here for you. I always will be. We're sisters." She smiled softly at the thought as she gently soothed Blair, rubbing her back in slow circles.

The brunette took her best friend's free hand in her own and held it to her heart.

"I was such a fool, S. I thought he had a heart. I thought we'd both made horrible mistakes at Cotillion and that we could get past it." She sniffled, and Serena knew then that she'd been crying. "But I was wrong. We weren't even in a real relationship. And he admitted openly to me that it was just all a game to him."

Serena swallowed. "He said that?" She could believe it, but it still hurt her to hear it. And it made her very, very angry.

Blair nodded against her best friend. "Apparently I was just an opportunity for him to 'play mentor to a freshly popped cherry.'" She swallowed.

"Bastard," Serena cursed under her breath.

"That's what I said," Blair almost laughed cruelly. A few minutes later she lifted her head to look at her best friend. "If you would've come over in a few more days, I could have probably had my denial and cool queenly demeanor safely in place."

"Good thing I didn't wait," she smirked.

Blair half-laughed and nodded, looking down.

Serena held her tongue for as long as she couldn't manage – a few seconds – before finally asking the question that was burning inside her.

"Did you… Did you fall for him, B?"

The question hung in the air, thick and nasty and unresolved, but it demanded to be answered.

She swallowed.

"I don't know," she said.

Mostly Serena felt relief, because infatuation would heal easier than finding out the guy you'd fallen in love with had been deceiving you the whole time. But the way Blair was acting made it obvious to her that she hadn't told the truth. Speaking from experience, she'd been infatuated with a lot of guys. If any of them had deceived her – which most of them had, though she hadn't cared much for it at the time – she would have been angry. But if Dan someday betrayed her, she knew her heart would be so broken she couldn't find the strength to be angry. Not right away at least. She would just be unbearably sad. Heartbroken.

"How come?" she asked softly, instead of immediately contradicting her. There was always the possibility she was wrong. Blair was often unpredictable. She had to understand what her logic was.

"I kissed Nate," she sighed, sounding both aggravated and regretful, but also confused as to what it meant about her own feelings.

Serena's eyes widened. Clearly Nate had not filled her in on all the details during their little encounter.

"He tried to win me back, pulled me away from all the commotion during Cotillion, and tried to win me back. He told me he loved me and how sorry he was. Then he kissed me, and even though I protested vigorously, eventually I kissed him back. Chuck did not take that well."

She frowned. "It's kind of hard for me to see Chuck getting upset about you kissing another guy, especially if you guys were just sneaking around. I can't see him getting very distraught over any girl he was 'with' finding someone else to occupy her time with. He usually just moves on to the next. There is usually an endless supply of girls willing to sleep with him," she chuckled lightly but stopped immediately when she saw Blair stiffen. She swallowed. "Sorry," she murmured.

Blair shook her head. "No. You're right. It would be very un-Chucklike for him to care one way or the other, which I suppose is why it makes perfect sense why it was all just a game to him. All the affection, attention, and sometimes very romantic things he did for me…is foreign territory to him. It had to have been a game. I may be Blair Waldorf and far better than any other tramp on the street. But…a girl is a girl in Chuck's eyes, and I was in the perfect situation for him to make his move." She scoffed and then turned to her best friend. "I've just always known him so well, you know?" Serena nodded sadly. "It just felt so _real_ to me, despite it being very unlike him. It felt like I was the girl that was changing him, the first girl he was falling for." She turned away and muttered, "I guess that was real stupid of me to think that."

"You're a dreamer," Serena put in, and hoping and doubting almost simultaneously that it would help. "With Nate officially out of the picture, maybe you just wanted the next guy you got involved with to fit that romantic fairytale you always long for."

Blair scoffed again. "Guess that makes me real stupid too. It's downright pathetic." She shook her head.

"_No_," Serena insisted, forcing Blair to look at her. "You are _not_ stupid, B. Not in the least. You're _Blair Waldorf_. You make girls shake in their heels if they're not brand name and in the brightest color."

She made a half-hearted attempt to smirk.

"My brilliance in fashion and my whip in commandeering the young and helpless at school doesn't make me qualified as the wisest when it comes to my love life. Every guy I get involved with ends up not really wanting me."

"Nate wants you," she reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Why not?" she pressed.

"I'm dealing with a broken heart here," she said defensively. "Now is hardly the time to consider if I should give my ex another chance. He broke my heart too, and by _cheating_. Chuck's words may have been harsh and his behavior even viler, but at least he didn't technically cheat when we were 'together.'"

"That's probably not true…"

Blair's eyes flashed to hers. "Did you see him with someone else?" she demanded.

Serena thought about it for a moment. She didn't regularly watch Chuck, tried to avoid him at all costs in fact, but when she really stopped to think about it she realized she hadn't. Chuck had been absent, which she now realized was when he must've been with Blair, or out in the open with Nate.

"No…actually," she half-laughed. "I guess I haven't," she mused.

"So you just assume he's lying."

"It's _Chuck_," she deadpanned.

"You're judging!" Her eyes widened in accusation.

Serena held up her hands in protest.

"I'm sorry!"

Blair's face relaxed and Serena lowered her hands back to the bed.

"It's just hard for me to picture… You and Chuck."

"Well, you won't have to picture it anymore, since it was all a _lie_."

She sighed, wanting to tell her best friend she should've known better, but she held her tongue once more. Now was not the time for lectures. And she had, after all, been in a very vulnerable place.

"I'm sorry, B," she said softly.

Blair looked up at her. "You're taking this awfully well. When I confessed I slept with Chuck at Thanksgiving you almost lost it."

She smiled softly. "I've had time to think about it. When Nate came to me at Cotillion, convinced Chuck had raped you, believe me, I was furious."

Blair's eyes widened. "He thought _what_?"

Serena nodded. "Oh yeah. I had to drill some common sense into him or he might just have launched at his best friend over an assumption that had completely no grounding whatsoever."

"What made him even think—" She paused, realizing it, and gasped. "He saw us walking out of the coat closet."

She nodded. "Can I assume what happened in there just before was completely consensual?"

She winced. "Afraid so."

She sighed. "Oh, B." She held her in her arms and rocked her. "We'll get through this."

Blair sniffled and held tightly onto her best friend.

"Thanks, S," she murmured. After a long while she lifted her head slightly. "We can eat macaroons and watch _Tiffany's_ all day today, right?"

She laughed. "Of course!"

….

Chuck woke up around 1 pm with a hotel maid on either side of him and a massive hangover as soon as he opened his eyes.

He'd stayed up till four am drinking again. Then he'd tried to amuse himself with the ladies on either side of him but couldn't manage to have sex with him. He cursed himself for that, but decided it was their fault since they were equally drunk and crashed almost the second they hit the pillows.

The loud knock at the door was what had woken him up. Otherwise he might have slept in till five like he had for the last three days since Cotillion.

"Go away!" he shouted groggily, causing the girls on either side of him to move slightly in their sleep. He wondered briefly if they were missing work and if he would be blamed for it. Then he realized he didn't care. It was their choice to sleep with the boss's son, literally or otherwise.

"It's me, man," Nate said through the door.

Chuck groaned.

"We need to talk," he said louder.

"Now?" he shouted just as loudly. The girls beside him started to rouse themselves due to the noise.

"Yes, _now_. It's about _Blair_."

Chuck's eyes flashed wide open. He sat up quickly, regretting it instantly. He winced. But he turned over the covers as best as he could and started to make his way towards the door.

"Why would we have to talk about Blair? Aren't you guys back together yet?"

There was silence on the other side of the door.

Worried now, Chuck hurried over and opened it. He was startled by what he saw. Nate looked furious. Chuck wondered if he _knew_.

"I need you to tell me the truth, Chuck. No bullshit."

Warily Chuck attempted a smirk. "Why don't you come in? I'll make you a drink."

"No bullshit," he demanded.

"None."

Nate swallowed and nodded. Chuck opened the door further and gestured for his best friend to come in.

"What happened after you left the ballroom at Cotillion – after I talked to you about Blair?" he asked, not moving.

Chuck's hand dropped.

"I went to apologize to her," his eyebrows furrowed.

"Did you?" Nate took a step towards him.

"Of course."

"Something else didn't happen instead?" he fumed.

Chuck released his hold on the door.

"What is this about?" he asked harshly.

"I'm the one who should be pissed," Nate informed him. "Not you."

"Then come out with it. What are you so mad about? What do you think I did?"

"You didn't treat her like…" He glanced at Chuck's bed and finally noticed the girls climbing out of it. "Like _them_, did you?"

Chuck glanced over and then back at Nate, his lips slightly parted as his jaw began to drop. He almost answered but then the girls moved past them and out into the hall, looking only slightly put together.

"You told me no bullshit," Nate said, venom in his voice.

"I'm not giving you any," Chuck said, his eyebrows narrowed. "What are you accusing me of?"

"Rape," he said suddenly, the word so hard to get out now suddenly very easy.

"_What_?" Chuck rasped.

"Did you rape Blair – _yes_ or _no_?"

Chuck coughed on his own breath.

"_No_."

Nate eyed him for a long time, clearly still very skeptical.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm your _best friend_. My word should mean something."

"So if you had raped Blair, you would tell me?" he asked doubtfully.

"I wouldn't rape Blair," he said, his eyes dark and dangerous. "She's not just your ex. All four of us have been friends since we were kids." He decided to not mention how he'd tried to take advantage of Serena just a few months before in the downstairs kitchen.

"Then what happened?" he demanded.

Chuck made an effort to look confused, but he was beginning to sense that somehow Nate had been tipped off about something suspicious going on between him and Blair.

"I saw you two leaving the coat room together."

"We didn't leave together," he said, wondering if he should have denied the entire incident.

"You were close enough to have done it."

Chuck sighed. "If you would have watched long enough, you would have seen that shortly after we went our separate ways."

Nate's eyes were still narrowed, but Chuck could see the tension slipping slightly.

"Did anything happen in there?"

"You're accusing me of—"

"I don't want to. But I know who you are and I know who she is. I also know she was upset when I last saw her. Don't tell me you don't take joy in taking advantage of a vulnerable female."

Chuck stared at him head on. "I kissed her," he said, deciding to give him a half-truth.

"Did she fight you?" he asked, his voice hard but his features clearly softening.

Chuck relaxed, feeling now more in control of the situation.

"She pulled back," he said. "I didn't push her."

"She looked very unsettled when she left," he paused. "Why?"

Chuck realized he hadn't particularly caught that feeling from her at the time, but now it made perfect sense.

"I'm guessing it's because of the little confession I made after we'd gotten past our little awkward moment. She needed time to process her thoughts and maybe was unsure of how to go about it," he suggested.

"What confession?" he asked, curious now.

"She said that you wanted her back," he said.

"…was that all?"

Chuck hesitated, but decided to come out with it. It was better to shut it all out than pretend there had been something there between them.

"She said she was still in love with you."

Nate's face immediately shifted to relief and surprise.

"She said that?" he asked, awed.

Chuck relaxed even further even as his stomach started to churn.

"Yeah," he assured. "Am I forgiven now? You're not gonna punch me or anything?" he teased.

Nate laughed, now wrapping an arm around his best friend's shoulders as he finally let himself inside.

"Nah. No punching. I mean, at least you didn't sleep with her."

He chuckled, deciding to not respond to that particular remark.

"Let me pour you a drink."

He smirked, relieved that it was over. When he got around to the bar and started pouring drinks, he glanced up at his gleeful best friend and decided to take the leap.

"You've made it past step one," he said, sliding a glass of scotch over to Nate. "What are you going to do now? Personally, I think you should continue on to the finish line."

Nate smiled widely. "You think so?"

"She's in love with you, man." He lifted his glass in a salute. "Go for it. Get her back."

Nate smiled and returned the salute, taking a drink and setting the glass back down. Chuck forced himself to exude the same appearance of happiness or at least amusement, but it was hard with his heart breaking as it was. He hadn't meant a word of that cruel good-bye he'd given to Blair. And now he'd just given himself a death sentence.

The inevitable was about to occur: _Nate and Blair back together again and happier than ever_.

"I kinda owe you for this, man" Nate said, breaking Chuck out of his depressing thoughts. "After how my last conversation with Blair went, I didn't know if I'd have a real shot again. But now I know. I really, really know. She's in love with me," he laughed, elated. "Thanks, Chuck." He squeezed his shoulder. "I am _so_ glad you kissed her." He chuckled.

Chuck forced a laugh and poured himself another glass.

_Nate and Blair holding hands and staring deeply into each other's eyes._

_Nate and Blair kissing._

_Nate and Blair…making love._

He'd never felt so sick in his entire life.

"Any time."

…

A/N: More progress next chap. And some delicious hope in the final scene. ;) HUGE thanks btw for all your reviews from last chapter. I really enjoyed all of them. =)


	12. Behind Closed Doors

A/N: Warning: last scene is full of smut and lots of curse words, but most of you enjoy that, don't you? XD Please review. =)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.12—Behind Closed Doors**

She spotted him sitting in the restaurant at the same table they'd sat at months ago and had a sudden sense of dejavu. The last time she'd been here with Nate it was to tell him she'd overreacted to the news of him cheating on her with her best friend, and that they just needed to move past it.

Then she'd proceeded to excuse herself from the table and head to the bathroom to relieve herself by sticking her finger down her throat and regurgitating the half of a salad she'd managed to consume.

Now she felt no such need to attempt to fulfill herself through that nasty little habit. She wasn't overwhelmed with grief over Nate cheating or pretending she had completely recovered. She knew what this conversation was going to be about. Or, at least she had a good idea. She also knew what her answer would probably be, regardless of the protests and logic currently spinning in her mind.

Nate's eyes widened and lit up when he saw her. She couldn't remember the last time she saw genuine joy in his eyes in regards to her. When she approached the table he even stood to his feet to help her into her chair.

_Nate is a gentleman._

"Thanks for meeting me," he said, coming to sit across from her.

She offered what she hoped was a polite smile but knew it had come across as forced. She didn't respond to him verbally; instead, she signaled the waiter and asked him for a lemon water. Then, reluctantly, she turned back to Nate.

"How are you?" he asked softly, concerned.

She wished he'd stop being so perfect.

"I'm coping," she said, avoiding eye contact with him and instead giving it to the waiter when he returned with her lemon water. She accepted it gratefully and made a mental note to produce a larger tip than usual to whatever his name was.

"Blair, I asked you here so I could apologize."

She sighed. "Nate—"

"I had no right to come on to you the way I did. I took advantage of your frazzled state. The fact that I didn't know you had a boyfriend is no excuse," he paused. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

_No, you shouldn't have_.

"We broke up," she said without thinking.

He froze, not expecting that bit of news, because he knew she was referring to the boyfriend she'd referenced at Cotillion and not their long past break up.

"Was it because-"

"Yes." Her eyes snapped to his. "It was because of you."

Her accusatory tone was not lost on him, but he couldn't help but feel hopeful at the admission.

"Don't get too excited though, Archibald." She took a sip of her lemon water. "He broke up with me because I told him I kissed you, not because I said I was still hung up on my ex."

He braced himself and took a deep breath.

"Blair…I know you say you still haven't forgiven me—"

"I haven't," she snapped.

He lifted his eyes up to hers. "Then why did you kiss me back?"

She looked away.

He sighed and reached for her hand, which reluctantly she let him take.

"I know I hurt you, and in the worst way possible, but we have history, Blair, a lot of it. I want to make up for lost time. Please, just…give me a chance."

She looked back at him. "I gave you lots of chances, Nate. You blew all of them."

He swallowed and nodded. "I know," he paused and then looked up at her. "But what have you got to lose?"

She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly realized the truth in his statement. Chuck had made it clear she never really meant anything to him, and she was hurting. Badly. On the surface she couldn't feel anything towards Nate anymore, not romantically speaking. It wasn't just that he'd hurt her and she refused to forgive him. It was the fact that she didn't care one way or the other.

What he was offering her now was to start over. Blank slate. They wouldn't pick up where they left off or try to go back to how it was before he'd slept with Serena. It would almost be like they were meeting for the first time.

"If you think my whole world revolves around you or whoever my significant other, you're mistaken. I don't need you or any other guy in my life to keep me grounded."

"Is that why you moved on so quickly?"

Her anger flared up.

"What are you accusing me of?" She ripped her hand away. "Being dependent on a guy, any guy, to get me through the day?"

"No, no, of course not," he said quickly. "I'm just saying…that maybe you've forgotten what we had between us, what deep down we still have."

She sighed. "Nate…"

"I'm not asking for a full commitment. But…you have to have thought about what I said _sometime_ in the last week."

_Not really_, she thought ironically. Mostly she'd been drowning her sorrows after losing Chuck.

She swallowed.

"Blair." He took her hands again. She wished they were Chuck's. "I love you."

She looked up at him. There it was again. That all encompassing vow that she'd bestowed on him countless times throughout their long five year relationship.

"That hasn't changed."

She closed her eyes, remembering how just before that last explosion between her and Chuck, it had looked like he had been about to declare his love. Before he vehemently declared he was incapable of it of course. And that it was all a game, all role-play.

She felt sick.

"You've been in love with Serena for a long time, Nate. You can't just switch that off."

"She was a distraction," he said, and that made her finally look up at him. "I didn't realize how good I had it until it – you – were gone."

She pursed her lips, her mind racing for what her decision would be. He wasn't asking much of her, and she'd been so very heartbroken and lonely in the last week. It was clear Chuck was very serious about what he'd said since he didn't even give a second thought to their parting words.

"I don't know, Nate…" she sighed, tired now from snapping at him.

The tired response lit hope inside him, because she was starting to cave.

"I just don't…feel that way about you anymore."

"Maybe you do and you just don't know it," he offered.

The argument was starting to exhaust her and she wondered why she just didn't give in. If for nothing else, she'd get some companionship from someone other than Serena and Dorota.

"You still think I'm hot right?" Her eyes widened and she looked up at him, shocked by his assumption. "Cute," he corrected. Her jaw dropped. "And that I'm a 'nice guy'?" he asked, the corner of his lips turning up in a subtle grin that was starting to display his dimples.

She remembered when she'd seen him the first day of their seventh grade year. She'd gone home that day gushing to Dorota about how cute and nice and thus perfect Nate Archibald was.

"Everyone knows you're attractive, Nate." She pulled her hand away. "And minus your recent behavior in our long-standing relationship, yes, you're a nice guy."

"Wasn't that all you needed before?"

She held her tongue.

"Blair." His baby blue eyes pleaded with her. They were awfully hard to resist and she was well aware of that. "Can we just start over? I promise this time I will not break your heart."

"Things…happen, Nate. You can't promise that."

"I can promise I will try my best not to."

She closed her eyes and was silent for a long time. There was no pleading or further questions from Nate. After what must've been at least fifteen minutes, she opened her eyes and made her decision.

"We would have to take things slow," she heard herself saying. "I mean, really, _really_ slow."

He nodded, trying not to look too excited. "Absolutely."

"Starting from scratch kind of slow," she emphasized.

"Like we've never met before," he assured, a smile starting to show on his face despite himself.

She didn't exactly smile, but she wasn't looking distraught or sad or upset or against it all either.

"Okay," she allowed.

"Okay."

For a minute she left the information sink in. Then she took another sip of her water and stood to her feet.

He frowned. "Where are you going?"

"I need to meet up with Serena. She'll want to know what the outcome of this little meeting was."

"Going to gush about me?" he prodded, joining her at the side of the table.

She forced a smile and paused before moving past him.

"Don't flatter yourself." She walked past him before he could so much as brush a kiss on her cheek.

"Wait. Blair, when are we going to—"

"I'll call you later," she said, not looking back. "We're going to do things on my terms this time or not at all."

She pushed the glass doors open on her final words and he shook his head and looked after her smiling.

"Yes, ma'am," he murmured, enthralled.

…..

If he wasn't trying to be so secretive about his skipping town he might have called in the hotel maids to pack up his suitcase. As that wasn't the case though, he found himself painstakingly looking through his wardrobe and various other items for what he would need for the duration of Christmas break across the ocean in Monaco. It wasn't as easy as he thought, since he could very easily just abandon a suitcase entirely and buy everything he needed when he got there.

That might prove even more tiresome though.

So it was that Chuck spent far too much time deciding what to pack and ended up still being present when the tall blonde he'd once upon a time tried to seduce ended up at his door.

He didn't even make it to the door before she started lecturing him.

"Chuck Bass, open this door right now. I know you're in there. If you don't come out right now, I swear I will tell the whole world that—"

"You'll tell them what?" he asked smoothly, opening the door before she could finish her sentence.

Her eyes narrowed. "I think you know."

"I think you don't."

Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. She ground out a frustrated huff when she stormed past him into the suite after he opened the door further and gestured for her to come in.

"This is about Blair, as I'm sure you know" she said, sitting herself down on one of the bar stools. Appearing unaffected, he followed her and went behind the bar to pour his unexpected guest a drink. "And don't you dare try to deny what I'm here about. I know you two have been seeing each other," she accused, pointing her finger at him dangerously.

"We were having sex," he corrected. "I wouldn't worry about that anymore though. It's all over now."

"You used her."

He smirked, amused. "No more than she was using me."

"Ha! What could she possibly have needed to use _you_ for?"

His eyes narrowed, for the first time showing something other than light demeanor. For a second Serena thought he'd almost taken offense to how little he might mean to someone.

"If you're trying to imply our relationship was anything but light and casual on both our ends, you're sadly mistaken. I'm Chuck Bass, not…Romeo."

Briefly, Serena recalled Blair's references at the final ballroom dance classes before Cotillion.

…_a girl wants Romeo, not Hamlet._

Chuck had been her Romeo, she realized.

"Look, Chuck, under normal circumstances I would tell Blair to just move on, what with Nate wanting her back and all," Chuck looked away at that comment, "but she appears to be stuck, so to speak. Whatever you did, you really played a number on her."

"Playing games is one of my favorite pastimes. I was under the assumption that it was a game for her as well. It's not my fault that for some reason she thought it was real. She knows who I am, and so do you." He moved back around the bar after having slid over the drink to her and returned to the bed to finish packing his suitcase. "I must say, it is very unusual for Blair to be so chatty about our short-lived affair. She was the one who was so insistent on keeping it a secret."

A light went on in Serena's head. She turned around, only just noticing the suitcase.

"You didn't want to keep it a secret?" she asked carefully, ignoring how he was packing things momentarily. "What if Nate had found out?"

He froze but then appeared to gather himself and turned around to face her.

"Of course I didn't want it to get out either. Nate is my best friend. He's the only person that means anything to me. He can't know about this."

Her eyes widened at the threat he wasn't saying.

"I haven't told him," she said. His fist clenched. "I'm not going to," she insisted. "Especially with Blair getting back together with him. That would ruin any chance they have of making it work."

His jaw clenched and his hands formed into fists. She looked at him warily.

"Yes…it would, wouldn't it?" Briefly he appeared to be contemplating the secret coming out, but apparently his own losses if that should happen won out.

"So, why are you upset she wanted to keep it a secret?" she repeated her query.

He zipped up his suitcase tightly, everything packed. Slowly he turned around to look at her, danger in his eyes.

"I'm _not_ upset. There is nothing to get upset over. We ended things because she's getting back together with Nathaniel, and I don't do cheating. Neither does she. I wouldn't do that to Nate. That's crossing lines that I can't justify."

She was taken aback. "For someone who doesn't care or have feelings, you're awfully defensive over what might happen if Nate found out."

He didn't respond to that. Instead he pulled out his cell phone and called the front desk to ask if his limo had arrived. A curt thanks ended the short conversation and Chuck looked back up at Serena when he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Where are you going?" she asked before he could tell her.

"On vacation. We have two weeks off, if you'll recall," he said mockingly. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He tried to move past her but she grabbed his arm and he stopped, looking down at where she was touching him. "Of course, I could always detain my departure if you had something else in mind?" His eyes were heated and his eyebrows moved suggestively.

Disgusted, she released him immediately.

"You're disgusting."

He smirked. "So I've been told," he said, moving past her into the hall.

"You sure it didn't mean anything to you?" she called after him once she'd made her quick recovery.

"Not a thing," he assured her, continuing on to the elevators.

"You spent an awful lot of money and went out on a long limb being so romantic for something that meant nothing. I was under the impression you don't go through any trouble for something you don't want very badly."

He turned around in the elevator once he'd gotten inside and pressed the button for the doors to close.

"You must not know me very well. Good-bye, Serena."

The doors closed and she was standing alone in the hall with the door to Chuck's suite still half-open. Frustrated, she went inside and slammed the door behind her, determined to at least finish the drink he'd made her before she left.

She didn't know what she was trying to achieve by coming here and lashing out at him for breaking her best friend's heart. Blair would probably be furious, because knowing her she'd want Chuck to know she hadn't been affected by his breaking off their affair and that it was all a game for her too. But there was something about Blair getting back together with Nate so soon, even if they were taking it very slowly, that made her uneasy. Blair wasn't stupid. She wouldn't have gotten involved with Chuck if it hadn't been serious. And from what she'd heard she was very reluctant to get involved with him to begin with, following the night he took her virginity anyway.

It just wasn't adding up. What _was_ becoming clear though was her best friend wasn't getting back together with Nate because she wanted to give them a real chance because she was still in love with him and he was finally willing to do whatever it took to make things work.

Nate was her rebound from Chuck.

…

His phone went off.

It was the first time he'd gotten a call, text, or anything aside from the bombardment from Serena which he was pretty sure Blair didn't plan herself, from the pretty brunette he'd left behind in the city.

He should leave it alone. He didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to have anything to do with her. She was back with Nate now and he needed some time to get her out of his system so when he walked into St. Judes the Monday school was back in session it would be as if nothing had happened between them at all.

It was ironic though that he was bored to pieces and he was just about to call in some room service to get him through the night.

Monaco was gorgeous and there were beautiful women everywhere. But he was going to call on the hotel maids in the hotel he'd gone straight to and hadn't left since in the eight hours he'd been in the country?

He prepared himself for venomous insult to spew at her or some cocky remark to whatever she would say. She had probably decided it was right by now and that it was just a game to both of them. If she hadn't before she certainly would now that she'd realized what her best friend done without her permission no doubt.

"Waldo—"

A quiet breathy sound interrupted his greeting and it made him lose his breath. He swallowed.

_Had he just heard correctly? _

"Blair?"

She moaned again, and he realized he was right. And that he was starting to get turned on. His dick twitched beneath his pants.

He cursed himself for this.

For a few seconds he debated what to do. He could forget their last argument. He could forget all the issues that were so thick and painful that kept them driven apart by hurt and anger. For one night he could forget all of this if she would just…

"_Chuck_," she moaned breathily, and he swore he could hear her pumping her juices.

"_Fuck_," he turned his face away too late and his curse went straight into the phone. In that moment he knew it was too late. They weren't physically together and she was doing this of her own free will. Maybe Serena was just pushing him over the edge by saying that Blair and Nate had gotten back together. Whatever the case he suddenly couldn't think clearly, and his erection was becoming more obvious, painful even.

She moaned again and he could tell by the change in pitch that she was biting her lower lip. It was incredibly erotic just imagining it.

"What are you wearing?" he whispered huskily. Her purring into his ear confirmed his lust-hazed decision.

"Nothing."

He was already in his silk pajamas for comfort's sake, so it took hardly any effort at all to stick his hand down his pants and start to run it up and down his member, groaning as she spoke to him.

"_Touch_ me," she requested, her voice hot and sultry, seductive. "Tell me what you want to do to me – what you _are_ doing to me."

"_Fuck, Waldorf_," he pumped himself faster.

"No names," she whispered sensually. "Just tell me."

He forced himself to focus. Just her moaning would get him off, but he knew he wouldn't even get that if he didn't give her something in return. His curses were no doubt turning her on, but that wouldn't be enough to carry her through. And they'd never had phone sex before. It would be one last thing he could teach her – as if she wasn't doing a hell of a job already. Once this was done he could further cleanse himself with foreign women and when he got back he'd be as good as new.

"Your skin is silk," he murmured into the phone. "It tastes like cream and sugar and smells of lilacs. I love to lick you and kiss you. Your thighs, your breasts, your neck…oh god, your neck."

"Lick me."

"Oh, I am," he grunted, envisioning it in his head. He was hovering over her and bending his head to lick every inch of her skin as she squirmed, her hand caught up in his tousled hair.

"You're sweating," she breathed into the phone and he knew that he was. "Take off your shirt."

He was practically ripping off his silk top just as she said it. It was like she was right there with him. It was hot as hell.

"Now kiss me, Chuck. Kiss me where I'm melting."

"Fuck yourself," he murmured. He could hear the tiny gasps as she slid her hand down her body and stuck her fingers into her core, slowly starting to pump herself.

"Oh fuck, Waldorf. _Fuck_, I want you so badly. I want to suck your breasts till your nipples are hard as rocks. And then I'll bite them and make marks on your lush, exquisite skin."

"My nails drive lines into your back…" she gasped, "you're bleeding."

He wished he was. He was breathing heavily, all his clothes off now as he pumped his dick so fast he thought he'd grow tired. He squeezed his balls and moaned, his head falling back on the pillow.

"That was me," she said. "I fucking sucked your balls because you drank my juices."

He almost lost it.

"_Blair_," he choked. The sound of her cursing was killing him. She'd never been so aggressive. Not like this.

"Tell me that you want me," she demanded. "Tell me I know your every desire."

"Let me show you," he purred. "Pressing down against you, nipping at your shoulders, kissing down your stomach. Let me thrust up into your waiting core."

She cried out louder than before just seconds after the words slipped out of his mouth.

He pictured it in his mind, pictured how hot she was for him, and how intertwined he began thrusting up into her. God, he'd give anything to be in the flesh with her right now. Screw Nate and whoever else, she was _his_.

"Harder. Faster," she begged.

"You like it like this, don't you, baby?" he asked huskily, still pumping himself, on the brink.

"Touch your balls, Bass. I'm squeezing."

And then he came undone. He cried out, streaming white fluid across his blankets and sheets.

Dazed from his climax, he just barely recognized her scream of exultation when she came seconds later. He heard her when she tasted herself, picturing him there beside her, hovering over her maybe, licking her clean.

When her breathing slowly came back to normal he was grinning like a fool.

"Well, well, Waldorf. I never—"

Click.

He frowned and looked at his phone. Perfect reception.

She'd hung up on him. She'd given him his best climax in days and then just hung up.

_Screw her_.

He groaned when he realized he just had, verbally at least. And that he wanted to again, physically this time, on every surface in every place until not even Nate could compete with their undeniable attraction and sex appeal.

"Fuck, Waldorf," he murmured and tossed his phone to the side. Regretfully he got off the bed where he decided they _had_ made love, and he walked into the shower to envision it once again.

…

A/N: Not sure how I feel about this chap, but it's got everything I wanted in it, so I hope you enjoyed. ;) I'll try to update when I can. Really busy though. Appreciate those reviews!


	13. The MET

A/N: Alright, to the very confused guest reviewer (or two), all I have to say is if you still don't understand what happened last chapter by the end of this chapter, please go back and re-read the last scene of last chapter. The fact that the "sex" doesn't happen until Chuck takes the call from Blair and abruptly ends when she hangs up on him should be a huge tip off. It's unlikely they would have had strictly phone sex only if they were in the same room together or that they would be back together with no legitimate conversation taking place. For future reference, as I've said before, please try to send me your questions/concerns through another means than your guest reviews. I would prefer not to answer you through author's notes. Check out my profile for my other outlets. It would be much appreciated.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended. A HUGE thank-you to all my gorgeous reviewers. You're amazing. =)

…

**Ch.13—The MET**

He'd screwed them all. Hotel maids. Tourists. Natives. Blonde bimbos. Bartenders. Models. Cougars. Prostitutes. Strippers. And yes, one married woman.

He'd been very busy over Christmas break, and received a multitude of delicious pleasurable physical contact as gifts in return.

Not to mention his hotel room had been stocked with the finest scotch.

Chuck Bass returned to New York thoroughly sexually satisfied and ready to take on high school life as if the last month and a half had never happened. After that first night in Monaco, Blair Waldorf never entered his mind once.

Not once.

He had been high and drunk and charming and a daredevil in bed and every woman he came into contact with appreciated him for it.

He was Chuck Bass.

But his good mood dissolved immediately when he spotted Nate and Blair standing next to each other in the courtyard between the Constance and St. Judes buildings.

_Damn_.

Nate's arm was wrapped lightly around her waist as he paid his attention to the headmistress who was apparently addressing all the students as they entered the vicinity. Blair was watching too, but she seemed a little tense and that was when she caught his eye. His jaw clenched and she blushed briefly but then almost instantaneously he smirked and she looked amused. Not annoyed, amused.

She must have caught him.

It was just as well. He had caught her too.

Nate turned to whisper something in her ear. She nodded agreeably and he slipped away from her to apparently retrieve something.

Chuck approached her in Nate's absence. If the new headmistress was saying something of importance, it certainly wasn't obvious to him. Or had managed to get to his brain at any point whatsoever.

"Waldorf," he greeted, slipping his hands into his pocket.

"Bass," she said coolly, as if nothing had ever happened between them.

_Fine. That was the plan anyways._

"How was your Christmas vacation?" he asked, leering, even as he chanced a glance at Nate who was gathering a couple brochures apparently and asking one of the teachers standing around the group of students a question.

She smiled.

"It was wonderful."

"Any highlights?" he asked, willing her to remember their one-night phone call that had risen again in his mind.

"Daddy came for Christmas Eve," she said, glowing a little.

He wondered if she regretted showing that emotion.

"With his French lover in tow?" he asked innocently.

Too innocently.

She glared at him.

"Who told you that? Your P.I. you had stalking me all break?"

He laughed. "You think too highly of yourself."

Her eyes narrowed.

He leaned forward, closing some of the gap between them.

"I was otherwise occupied," he informed her.

"Ugh." She pushed him away, feeling a zap momentarily when she touched his chest. "You're disgusting."

He let her push him and smirked, nodding to Nate as he returned to Blair's side.

"Some things never changed."

There was tension between them. Nate felt it the second he returned. Blair had been a little tense all morning, but it was intensified now, and it seemed different somehow. He didn't like it.

"Alright, let's just get this all out in the open."

Somewhat alarmed, Chuck and Blair both snapped their gazes to him.

"Chuck, you tried to kiss Blair. Blair, you backed out of it and left and now we're together. Let's not make this any more awkward than it has to be."

Blair turned to look at Chuck, amused it seemed that _that_ was the truth he'd decided to give Nate.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Chuck said, captivated by the amusement and then uncomfortable state Blair seemed to be in.

"I wouldn't either." She switched her gaze to Nate swiftly. "Is it time to go?"

"Yes, the new headmistress is trying to get everyone to form into lines." He handed her a brochure.

"Are we going somewhere?" Chuck's brows furrowed, confused.

It was Blair who answered. "Yes. On a field trip to the MET," she said cheerfully. Then she placed a hand on Nate's shoulder to get his attention. "I'm going to go find Serena. I want to walk with her."

Nate nodded hesitantly.

"See you there?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah. Sure."

She was gone before he'd finished his final word.

Chuck approached him and then watched after Blair as she walked away and then joined her bubbly blonde friend and the awkward boyfriend she had beside her that Blair quickly discarded. Apologetically, Serena cast a glance on the lover who'd been pushed aside, mouthing a 'sorry' as he nodded and found his way at the back of the line.

None of that was to Chuck's concern more than how deliciously short Blair's skirt was.

"So, you're back together?" he asked, his eyes still fixated on Blair's long legs.

Nate nodded. "Yeah…" he sounded confused.

"You don't…seem very together."

Nate sighed and Chuck finally looked at him as he started walking to get into line.

"It's complicated."

….

Blair had fallen behind.

This was not an unusual occurrence. She was always enthralled with Metropolitan Museum of Art. It reminded her of The Louvre in Paris, which was often the reason she deposited herself on the MET steps every day for lunch.

She knew this place like the back of her hand, and the junior class was so big she would hardly be missed. Serena had rejoined Dan, and Chuck and Nate were walking together though Chuck made a show to get distracted by some pretty blonde transfers who conveniently began their school year on a fieldtrip.

When Chuck turned around to see where Blair was – because, okay, he was curious – he saw she'd stopped at a large painting at the far end of the hall, one that conveniently was near the entrance of an _under construction_ exhibit room.

He smirked and lazily walked toward her as soon as the class had turned the corner.

"A masterpiece," he remarked, silently coming up behind her to look at the large painting.

She jumped a little, and then calmly glanced over her shoulder.

"I thought so. Though it's unlikely you could appreciate truly great art. Just as it's unlikely you have any notion of class whatsoever."

"Speaking of class, you seem to have lost yours."

She rolled her eyes and focused back on the painting.

"These tour guides fly by these paintings as if they see them every day. It's inexcusable, and I refuse to be sped along just because there's a time frame and a set schedule."

"Hate to bust your bubble here, Waldorf, but they _do_ see these paintings every day."

She turned and glared at him. "Then why don't you give them something new to see?" she dared.

His smirk spread into a wide Cheshire grin.

"Now, Blair…" he lifted his hand to stroke down her cheek. "How could I do that? What, with everyone watching?" She closed her eyes briefly at his touch, then slapped his hand away and turned back to the painting, well aware of the distance he was closing behind her. He was practically molding around her.

He pulled a few strands of hair back from the side of her face and whispered into her.

"I would get caught, and, undoubtedly, expelled."

"I'm sure your father would get you out of it. You're Chuck Bass."

He smirked. He loved hearing his name on her lips.

"Truthfully the only thing keeping me from seducing our tour guide is that she's very much occupied at the moment." His hands hovered along the curves of her hips until they settled on them gently. "I'd much more screw someone who had her anatomy available to me." He squeezed.

She stepped away instantly, suddenly breathless.

"I don't need to know the step-by-step process of how you seduce your conquests, Chuck. It's none of my business, and frankly I don't want to know. It's disgusting. You're disgusting. Now if you'll please just leave me alone." She stepped further away and stopped, grateful that the painting was so large and so she could still be looking at it and creating some distance.

He followed her and she sighed, but it was cut short when he brushed her hair over her shoulder and let his fingers slide along the length of her neck.

"Don't act so innocent, Waldorf. My remarks now are nothing compared to your dirty phone sex over Christmas vacation," he whispered huskily in her ear.

She spun around quickly, her eyes alight with fire and grateful that this hall was nearly vacant of people period, and certainly of anyone from their respective schools.

"That was one time," she ground out. "And I was drunk."

"You were still with Nate."

"You don't know that."

"Your reaction now proves that you were."

Her lips pursed tightly.

"Tell me," he leaned closer. "Is he not satisfying your needs?" His eyes glinted.

She looked angry and then extremely amused.

"What makes you think my needs need satisfying? I'm not a sex whore like you are."

He raised his eyebrows, but she refused to back down.

"Besides, Nate and I may be together, but it's on my terms this time. We're going very slow. I haven't even let him kiss me yet. Handholding is minimal."

He smirked.

"So, you're not opposed to cheating then?"

"There is no such thing as cheating in a _casual_ relationship."

"You sure about that?"

"Absolutely." She crossed her arms across her cheat, irritated now. "Not that you even deserve an explanation of my current love life, since you made it clear you want nothing to do with me, and frankly, I don't desire you either." She started to walk away, deciding the painting wasn't worth the trouble she'd gotten from standing behind and gazing at it.

He grabbed hold of her arm before she got too far.

"I never said that," he said smoothly, stopping her in her place. She turned her head to look at him but she couldn't think of anything better than she'd already thrown at him.

His grip on her arm lessened and he closed the distance between them again.

"I said you weren't prone to cheating—"

"I'm _not_. I wouldn't be."

"—and so our little affair had to come to an end."

She was still unsure of what exactly he was saying, so she came right out with it.

"You said that it didn't mean anything, that all the…romance was role-play."

"It was," he confirmed. Her heart sunk though she kept a quizzical expression on her face. "But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy every second of it. The sex was fantastic." He purred in her ear.

Much to her chagrin, shivers erupted through her, cascading from head to toe. She closed her eyes during the gentle onslaught and found him staring at her just as heatedly when she opened her eyes.

She ripped her arm away.

"I'm not interested. Try your seduction on the tour guide or an unsuspecting tourist. Maybe even give Little Jenny Humphrey another whirl."

She turned on her heel, but he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and kissed her hard before she could take another step.

She didn't push him away and storm off. She responded. He could feel the need in her.

Almost instantly he broke away, breathing heavily. Her piercing eyes convinced him he couldn't destroy her anymore. Not this time. Not as long as emotional ties were broken. _He wanted her_.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along into the under construction exhibit room where luckily no workers were currently working. There were huge boards and wide panels, giant clear sheets hanging from floor to ceiling.

In the very back of the room past some twisting wide hallways, Chuck found what looked to be a royally crafted Victorian era sofa, cushioned in red velvet. He turned to look at her and saw the fire in her eyes. He pulled her close and kissed her again, relishing in the feel of her lips against his and her flesh just beneath his fingertips. It was as he'd dreamed it every night in Monaco after every lay that didn't satisfy him nearly as much as the phone call did.

Her arms wound around his neck and her hands dove into his hair, tugging and messing all the carefully placed locks. He could have cared less. Blair Waldorf was in his arms again. Everything was perfect.

Some of the large clear floor-to-ceiling sheets surrounded the couch. They were more opaque and would hide at least some visual if someone stumbled into the room and got past the large maze they'd had to sift their way through.

Five minutes later they were both half-undressed and Chuck had her pinned beneath him on the soft sofa.

"God, Blair," he murmured, pressing hungry kisses down her neck and between her breasts, pulling her bra down with his teeth so he could swirl his tongue around one nipple and then the other.

She gasped. "No talking," she said on a stifled shriek.

He smirked against her skin.

"That phone call kept me semi-aroused for all of Christmas break." He lifted his head and smiled down at her, smug and perverse but also with a hint of awe and admiration. "You _excel_ at dirty talk."

She shifted and he groaned.

"And on how to touch me," he mumbled, pressing his lips to the valley between her breasts as she tightened her hold on his hair. As quickly as he could manage, he unzipped, unbuckled and awkwardly put a condom on without looking.

"Do you always bring condoms with you wherever you go?" she asked, sucking on his neck.

He shivered.

"Only when I think there'll be an opportunity."

She didn't know why she took offense to that, but she did. And it wasn't because she thought he had assumed they would end up sneaking off and having sex together on their first fieldtrip of the new year.

"Which is all the time?" she asked, smiling against him in the most flirtatious way, because damn if she'd let him know she was already simmering over the load of sluts he'd slept with in Monaco.

"Well…not when I go to meet with my father," he admitted, a wide grin on his face that widened further when he heard her laugh in response. He thrust into her before she could recover and she gasped.

"_Chuck_."

He thrust harder, faster, nearly falling apart when she twisted herself tightly around him, her legs around his waist, one hand clawing at his shirt-covered back and the other digging indents into his scalp. She bit down hard on his shoulder the faster he went.

"_Harder. Faster_."

"Dirty minx," he murmured. She always needed more, even when he thought he might be giving too much.

"Okay, enough," she said two minutes later, but before he could stop, she had them in reverse positions and she was riding him hard. He didn't know how much he could take her grinding hips and rising body. Her breasts swinging in the air dazed him as did the lusty stare she gave him, her hair flowing in wild waves around her face.

"_Fuck. Blair_." He brought her closer so he could feel her whole body moving against him. His head fell back. "_Fuck_, that's good."

Five minutes later and they both came undone, covering each other's mouths in a passionate kiss so their cries of ecstasy wouldn't echo through the entire room.

Panting and barely able to move, Blair finally crawled off of him and began looking for her clothes. A nearby display case made an excellent parallel to a mirror and she managed to make herself nearly as presentable as she'd been before. When Chuck had finished dressing, he came up behind her and tugged out the part of skirt she'd accidentally tucked into her underwear.

She smiled at the endearment and jumped a little when he squeezed one butt cheek. Her eyes lifted to the vague reflection of them in the case.

"I want you. You do know that, right?"

She turned to look at him and straightened his lapel and tie. Then she looked up at him and patted his chest. "I know."

He watched her walk away and waited a solid five minutes so they wouldn't be seen leaving the room together. When he finally found their class, Blair already present, they were entering the lobby again to go outside for lunch.

Nate looked at him, confused, his hand in Blair's. Chuck smirked.

"Where have you been, man?" Nate asked. "We haven't seen you since almost the beginning of the tour."

Chuck hesitated, glanced at Nate and Blair's clasped hands and then looked back up at his best friend.

"A little tourist distracted me." He winked, sidling up on the other side of his best friend.

Blair rolled her eyes, but he saw the hint of a smile on her lips. And Serena, just coming up then and having heard the brief conversation, scrunched her nose.

"Chuck, you're disgusting."

Dan wrapped an arm around her in comfort.

"So I've been told." He smirked. He could feel Blair's eyes on him.

…

"You really didn't have to walk me home, Nate," Blair said when they'd reached the entrance to her building.

He shrugged. "I wanted to. We didn't get to see much of each other today, what with you falling behind to look at every massive painting we passed."

She was about to defend her need to analyze each painting because of how unappreciated some of them were, but decided to take a different, more important course of action.

"Nate, we need to talk."

He frowned, his brows furrowed and he gave a nervous laugh.

"No good conversation ever started with those words."

She sighed. "I just need you to be clear on where we stand."

"Okay…" he said warily, unsure where she was going with this.

"Are you?"

"You said we were going slow."

"And do you know what that _means_?" she asked deliberately, forcing herself to remain patient.

"It means PDA is minimal, kissing in general is minimal—"

"Nonexistent," she corrected.

"Forever?" he asked, looking somewhat distraught.

She laughed lightly and then touched his shoulder.

"Oh, Archibald…" she smiled and looked at him. "When I say we're taking it slow, I mean we're doing this for your benefit, because you want to try again. I'm being open-minded which is why we're together. But my version of slow is casual. You're completely available to anyone else. I don't mind if you date Penelope and Iz on the side."

"But I don't want to date Penelope and Iz. I only want you. I love you."

She sighed. She really wished he'd stop saying that.

"What I'm saying is it wouldn't be cheating if you were to be seeing someone else too. As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as cheating in this little relationship we have going for us."

"Little?"

She sighed. "I guess what I'm saying is you have no right to be angry at me if I start seeing other people."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"Because I'm not committed to you," she said, almost cheerfully. He didn't like that. "It's like we're just meeting, like strangers."

"But we're not strangers. And we started dating a week ago."

"_Casually_."

"_Slowly_. I thought that meant—"

"Well, it doesn't. Are you clear on the guidelines of our relationship and any boundaries there might be?"

"There aren't any," he said, his brows still furrowed.

She smiled wide. "It's good to know you still understand English." She gave him a little wave. "See you tomorrow, Nate," she said, turning to go into her building. "Don't study too hard."

He was about to suggest they study together, but she was gone before he got the words out. He waved half-heartedly.

"Bye."

He turned and looked back at her disappearing form several times before leaving, feeling more confused than he could ever remember being in his entire life.

…

A/N: As you can see, we're going to be going back to those early one-shot type chapters that I had to the beginning, at least for awhile. The reason I added plot to this story tbh is because I wanted to put in more scenarios and I had run out of time with Cotillion coming up so fast. So, please send me your scenarios! I'd like to get lots of fun, juicy chaps up with the plot evolving only slightly and then pouncing out into more dramatics once I'm satisfied with what I all want them to experiment with! =D Lol. I hope you'll enjoy it. Please review. ;)


	14. Turn of the Tide

A/N: Okay, so apparently I royally suck at sticking to my 7-10 days update schedule. XD This is day 11 now. Lol. Hope y'all forgive me. Here's the chap! ;)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.14—Turn of the Tide**

It had been close. Too close. Less than half an hour in his presence and she had let herself be swept away in his essence and surrendered to him.

She recalled, vaguely, because she refused to acknowledge the similarities, that that had been the way it was the first time around as well.

_If only she was actually in love with Nate… _It would make things so much easier.

Maybe Serena's repetitive advice over break should have been taken more into consideration. Maybe she should have given Nate an honest legitimate chance with her heart again.

It wasn't too late, she reminded herself. After all, Nate wanted her again. He loved her, as he never ceased to remind her. She could easily turn around their casual "dating" relationship into a real, committed one.

The problem with that was she knew she wouldn't be able to stay faithful with Chuck around. All the sexual potential that emanated from him whenever he was in the same room with her threatened to make her go weak at the knees and fall to the floor.

Or he could hold her up. Against the wall. While he fucked her.

She shook her head to get the delicious image out of it. _This was ridiculous!_ He was Chuck _Bass_. He had no emotional ties to her and he was a totally disgusting manwhore. There should be no part of her entire being that desired him. She should desire Nate. Nate was _perfect_. Or nearly so.

But Chuck's almost _I love you_ kept her in doubt, and she found herself more drawn to the realization that if all she could get from him was the physical, she would take what she could get. She wanted him. Even if he had broken her heart.

The bell rang and she realized she'd totally zoned out of her entire biology class. At least it hadn't been anatomy and physiology, she told herself. Then she would be horny as hell and in dire need of Chuck's physical attention.

When she stood from her seat she regretfully felt the damp discomfort between her legs and realized that it hadn't mattered what class she was in. Chuck was forever on her mind and her recent thoughts had only assured her in that fact.

"Meet you in study hall?" Serena asked, coming up beside her.

Blair cleared her throat.

"Actually I think I'm going to go check up on Nate."

Serena raised her eyebrows, well aware of Blair's flippancy towards her non-boyfriend.

"Don't worry. It's nothing scandalous."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know."

Blair ignored the comment and parted ways with her best friend when they exited the classroom. Her minions confused for a minute, stalled in the hallway looking after Blair. When she turned the corner and they realized she wouldn't be returning, they blindly followed after Serena to study hall.

…

She felt a distinct thrill rip through her, sending tingles up her spine and goosebumps down her arms and legs. She knew exactly why she was going to see Nate and it had nothing to do with her greeting him with a morning chat.

Nate had just finished gym and he would be dripping with sweat, his toned muscles visible through his St. Judes t-shirt.

But that wasn't what excited her.

Chuck was in his class.

A million sex scenarios started running through her head, but one in particular stood out. Her core throbbed in anticipation.

She tried to stomp down the feeling when she entered the gym. It vanished immediately when she found it completely empty. She headed to the pool, aware that would be the easiest way to get to the boys' locker room without too much wandering eyes from the other boys. When she got to the pool though, she found Nate climbing out of it and most of the rest of the class too.

_It was the swimming unit_, she realized, her excitement back suddenly.

"Nate," she called, careful not to walk too quickly in her heels on the semi-wet floor.

He turned to look at who had called his name and ran a hand through his hair. It should look sexy as hell, but for some reason it didn't. Not to her. She lamented her situation.

"Blair," he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" He was still dripping. Delicately she reached for a towel and handed it to him. He used it to dry his hair.

"I thought I'd pay you a visit," she said sweetly.

"I thought we weren't…"

"Oh, we're not," she assured him. "But even friends visit each other. And I do hope you consider us at least that."

"Right. Friends."

She smiled pristinely.

"Well, friend, I have to get to my next class. So, is there something in particular you wanted to talk to me about?"

He sounded annoyed. For some reason it didn't make her overly nervous.

"Not in particular, no."

"Right. Well…I should be going then."

"Alright."

He hesitated. "I'd kiss you, but you said—"

She sighed. "Well, just this once."

His eyes lit up briefly as he moved in to kiss her, but at the last second she gave him her cheek and he kissed that instead of her ruby lips.

"Baby steps, Archibald."

He cleared his throat. "Of course. Baby steps."

She smiled. "I'll see you later. After school maybe."

"Sure. Bye, Blair." He walked off miserably around the pool and disappeared into the locker room.

"Well, that went well."

Blair was taken out of her staring after Nate, satisfied with their conversation, when _his_ voice interrupted her thoughts.

She glanced down at him. He was the only one left wading in the pool and the gym teacher had left.

"I thought so," she said, clearly proud of herself.

Chuck chuckled and swam to the side, resting his arms flat on the edge.

"He's frustrated, you know."

Her brows furrowed. "Why's that?" she asked, confused.

"He doesn't know what the hell happened to you. Why in the world would Blair Waldorf suggest a casual relationship when he's offering something that he considers more solid than the two of you ever shared before."

"What can I say? I've turned over a new leaf."

"He's nervous you're just using him as a distraction to get over your recent short-term ex."

_Nate was awfully perceptive_, she thought; if what Chuck was saying was true. _Too perceptive_.

"What makes him think that?" she demanded.

He smirked. "Me."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Careful, Bass. Nate might get suspicious of you. I know you don't want that."

"I'm not worried," he said easily.

She scoffed. "And why not?"

"I've got my eye on a bigger prize."

Before she could respond, he had his hand around her ankle and was pulling her into the water, clothes and all. Her purse dropped from her arms long enough to be saved from the sudden plunge.

She gasped coming up from the water, clothes completely drenched and hair in her eyes. Chuck was wading a short distance away from her smiling.

Finally she was able to blink away enough water and her hair back so that she could see his cocky expression and glare at it.

"What the hell was that for?" she fumed.

"It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he said, swimming towards her.

"No. Don't you dare come anywhere near me." She held her hands out to keep him away, but he easily grabbed her around her waist and pulled her to him. She decided to ignore the fact that she didn't fight him.

"Why not?" he purred, his lips coming closer to hers.

Her eyes were glued to them and when she lifted her eyes to his, she could see the heat in them.

Disappointed in herself already, she decided to go with the truth.

"Someone could see." She gulped.

He smirked. "There's my girl."

His lips descended on hers and her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs paralleling the motion around his waist. He groaned when he felt her grind against him.

"I bet you were wet before I even pooled you into the pool, weren't you?" he breathed hotly against her skin, tugging her ear lobe lightly with his teeth. "You were soaking for me. You came here for me."

"Don't think so highly of yourself, Bass. It could get you in trouble." Her heels, still miraculously on, dug into his back and drilled down into his ass to pull his swim trunks off.

"You know I'm a glutton for punishment," he growled, unbuttoning the buttons on her shirt with his teeth.

"You're also talented," she murmured, bringing his face back up so she could kiss him deeply. In one swift movement he had his hand in her wet, plastered panties and the other up the back of her shirt.

"Don't tear anything, Chuck. I won't have a thing to wear the rest of the day."

"Take the day off," he suggested. "There won't be any more classes in here today."

"And how do you know that?" she kissed down his neck as he finally rid her of her shirt and unclasped her bra, letting them both float away.

"I make it a point to know the schedule."

"For what reason?" she asked, dazed, and gasped when he clutched one ass cheek and sucked at one underwater nipple.

He came up for air.

"I have to have someplace to take my future conquests that's both risqué and yet discreet."

She stopped and opened her eyes, suddenly feeling numb.

_His conquests. He's Chuck Bass. Focus, Blair. He doesn't love you. He feels nothing towards you._

The excitement was gone.

"I best let you get back to them then," she said, clearly irritated even as she tried to sound amused. At least she didn't sound hurt like she was feeling, she told herself, searching for the silver lining.

"What?" he asked, confused, and then pulling her closer.

She braced her arms on his shoulders and tried to push away, but he held her tight.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Waldorf."

She scoffed. "Why are you wasting your time on me?"

His eyes narrowed. "Good question. Why _am_ I?"

It hurt her, but his insult didn't transfer to his actions. He still refused to let her go.

"Is that supposed to be a rhetorical question?" she asked, annoyed, and wanting to be away now more than ever.

"I don't know. You tell me." He turned quickly and pinned her against the side of the pool, kissing her passionately. She responded without thinking, because his dick was pressed against her core and he clearly wanted her. She had aroused him.

Just as he was about to guide himself up to her though. She kicked his shin.

He winced and pulled away.

"You want me, Waldorf. Why are you denying it?"

"You have no condom. Admit it."

He swam back to her and braced a hand on either side of her face.

"You're on the pill," he said dangerously, confident but angry. "Admit it," he dared, because he needed her to and he knew he was right.

"I'm not sleeping with Nate," she said, and she hated herself for it. She was giving him too much credit, too much boost to his ego when she meant nothing to him.

"Oh, I know," he said. "Doesn't change the fact. You're on it, aren't you?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times until his kissed her again and she hated that she responded. She hated all of this. She wanted him to love her and it was so goddamn hard when she was attracted to him all the time.

"Someone's going to see us," she defended weakly, dragging her lips away from his. He went to her neck.

"No one's going to see us," he told her again.

"Just because there aren't classes doesn't mean someone couldn't stumble in."

"If that happens, I'll cover for you," he assured her.

"And just how will you do that? By drowning me?"

He pulled her panties aside and thrust up into her before she could say another word.

"I don't think it'll come to that."

She cried out, tightening around him as he continued to pump into her. In and out, slow and then fast. It was excruciatingly delicious and it was killing her. Everything about this situation was butchering her into tiny meaty pieces, because nothing about it had any substance. And that used to be fine. It was better than fine. It was fantastic.

But not anymore. Now she wanted him to love her.

Her nails drilled down his back and then returned to place holes in his head. She bit at his shoulder, one of the few parts of his body that wasn't underwater.

"Go by the stairs," she demanded when she needed more control.

"Not going to run away from me, are you, princess?" he purred against her.

She shook her head, her eyes still closed. "No. I'm going to fuck you."

He smirked. "I love it when you talk dirty."

He swam with her inside him sideways till they got to the stairs at the shallow end of the pool. Their bodies underwater were more visible here when there wasn't feet of water beneath them before they hit the pool floor. But still she planted him on the middle step and settled herself on top of him, first grinding and then rising and falling until he completely fell apart and her scream just barely escaped her mouth by being covered by his.

His hands on her hips felt fantastic. His long member inside her sent pleasurable chills of hot and cold coursing through her. And when his hand wrapped up in her hair and he pulled her down to kiss her, she could almost pretend it was like it was before.

If it went on like this, she would be able to hear him call her his, call her beautiful, and that he always wanted to be near her, that he wanted her more than anything else.

But he climaxed and then it was over and he pulled out of her almost instantly.

"You are one fantastic fuck, Waldorf," he said cockily. "It's too bad you won't take Nate for a ride." He smirked and climbed out of the pool, completely naked. Then he rounded the pool and picked up his trunks that were floating near the side on the other end. He scrunched them up in his hand, didn't look at her again and headed into the locker room.

Feeling angry and hurt and so completely unsatisfied, regardless of what her body was trying to tell her, she swam across the pool, gathered her clothes and put them on, as wet as they were. Class was still in session, so she made her way over to the girl's locker room and dried herself off with one of the air dryers by the sink. Then she slipped by her locker to grab her things and headed out the door, texting Serena that she was going home because she didn't feel good. As far as she was concerned, it was the honest truth.

She was going to take the bastard's advice and take the day off. Without him. Because she'd let him fuck her. Again. And he couldn't care less.

There was only one option left for her if she was going to get through this. Until she got over Chuck, she was going to shut it off. She was going to shut it all off. Even to herself, to Dorota, to Serena, to anyone who knew. It wasn't just Nate she would shut herself emotionally off from. It was everybody.

Then if Chuck wanted her as his slut, she could do it with no regrets and no concerns over the possible repercussions.

It wouldn't just be a façade so Chuck wouldn't be able to see if he was getting to her. Now he really wouldn't be getting to her. And Serena wouldn't be able to figure her out either. Neither would Dorota. She wouldn't drown her sorrows with anyone. She had the feeling it would make her feel very much alive.

All emotions off. Period.

…

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Please review. =) B's going to be in that 2x19 "I don't care"-like phase for awhile, so I think I'll be doing more Chuck POV. Since, you know, he's still got the emotions/façade thing going, not the total switch off. ;)


	15. Swinging Open, Shut Closed

A/N: To my reviewers, THANK-YOU! WARNING: there is going to be some Nair action going on this chap. Cover your eyes if necessary.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.15—Swinging Open, Shut Closed**

He didn't know why, but for some inexplicable reason when Nate's phone rang, Chuck felt unnerved. He tensed, and he was just glad Nate didn't notice. The blonde was asleep on his couch.

"Nate." He tossed a pillow at him when he didn't wake up right away. The blonde lifted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. Chuck gestured at the ringing device. "Phone."

Nate reached out blindly, still half-asleep from his late afternoon nap.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone groggily. "Serena?" he asked, confused. "What are you—no, I haven't seen Blair. I thought she'd just been sick all w—" He sat up straight and Chuck followed suit. "You haven't seen her?" His eyes darted to Chuck's, who was surprisingly looking just as shocked and concerned as his best friend was. "She's not at home?"

There was a knock at the door.

Chuck tried to ignore it, but the sound came again and again.

"Come back later, we're busy!" he called out, assuming it was room service.

Nate waved his hand around, unable to hear what Serena was saying with Chuck's voice raised.

"I don't see a 'please don't disturb' sign on the door, so you can't be fucking any of your sluts, Chuck. Open the door. I know Nate's in there with you."

Both the boys' eyes widened.

"I…" Nate cleared his throat. "I think we found her, Serena."

There was a pause.

"Chuck!" Blair demanded from the other side of the door.

Hurriedly Chuck went to the door and opened it. Both the boys' jaws dropped wide open at the sight of her. Nate murmured something to Serena about getting Blair home and shut off his phone.

Blair Waldorf was drop dead gorgeous. But not only that, she was slutty. Six inch heels in knee length boots. A mini skirt that just barely covered her bottom and black fishnets that ran down her legs. A barely there sparkling tube top half-clothed her upper body. Her cleavage was practically bursting at the seams. She wore multiple bracelets and a long dangly necklace that rested between both breasts, drawing the viewer's eyes. She had on thick eyeliner and mascara that drew focus to her deep brown eyes. Bold red lipstick also lured eyes to her perfectly-shaped bow lips. Large dangly silver earrings hung from ears and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with a sparkling headband set just before it, matching the sparkles on her top.

"Blair," Nate barely got out on a squeak.

Chuck was speechless. His twitching dick was doing all the talking for him.

Blair glanced down at Chuck's protruding member and then adjusted her vision to Nate who was trying with an effort of pure will to shut his mouth. He'd never seen her like this. He'd never imagined she would _want_ to be like this.

"Serena-" he squeaked and cleared his throat. "Serena's worried about you."

Blair smiled. "Forget her."

His eyebrows crinkled. She set her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"If I overheard correctly, you just told her you'd get me home." She drew her hand over the outline of his collarbone and then slowly down his chest, stopping halfway down. She lifted her eyes to his. "That should satisfy her, don't you think?"

Nate couldn't take his eyes off of her. He nodded vaguely. "You'll call her when you get home?" he asked, reigning in where his little brain was taking him.

She smiled and lifted a finger to touch his chin. "Of course."

He relaxed a little when she moved her hand away.

"Now, shall we go out to dinner?" She asked, turning towards the door and giving him a delightful view of her snugly fitted ass.

"Sure." He cleared his throat. "Where do you want to go?" He decided not to mention how she could probably not be seen anywhere classy or upscale with this get-up on.

She paused in contemplation. "Someplace grungy."

"Grungy?"

"Not too grungy," she clarified. "Just somewhere out of place. A bar."

"A bar."

"Yes." She made no comment to his disbelief and shock at her suggestion. "I'm sure Chuck knows of several." She turned her head to look at him for the first time since she'd walked through the door. "Don't you, Chuck?"

He nodded, jaw still wide open.

She turned back to Nate. "See. There you go. I'll stay a minute and ask him the best locations in the area. Why don't you go downstairs and wait for me? There's a car waiting outside."

He nodded, and nearly stumbled going past her when he went through the door.

Miraculously Chuck recovered himself when she closed the distance between them and kicked the door shut behind her.

"Is this your fantasy?" he asked smarmily, proud of himself for getting a hold of his wild, lusty urges. He was about to get some relief after all, he assured himself. "Fucking me while your casual boyfriend waits downstairs for you in the lobby?"

She smirked. "He won't be casual for long."

His face dropped. "What?"

She smiled cheerfully. "That's right, Chuck. I've decided to take your advice and 'take Nate for a ride'. Inevitably that can only end up in starting a committed relationship, and I know that's what Nate's been yearning for since Cotillion."

"If you're trying to make me jealous, Waldorf…"

She laughed. "And how in the world could I do that? What with you prancing about with a million of soon-to-be conquests?" She batted her eyes innocently. "I'd rather not hang about and be labeled as one of those."

"My conquests consist of one-night stands. You obviously don't fit into that category."

She smiled pristinely. "Doesn't matter. From now on, I am going to have nothing to do with you, sexual or otherwise. And you know if you try to press that boundary, Nate will make sure you don't."

"And what will you say to make him prevent me from seducing you?" He leaned towards her, leering. "Tell me him about our dirty little secret? About the pool on Tuesday? Or the MET the day before? Maybe you'll tell him about our running around after you had just broken up, twenty minutes after to be exact?"

She was still smiling, though now it had widened into a more devious one and her eyes had darkened with excitement.

"Why not? I don't care if he finds out."

He brought himself back. "You don't?"

She sighed happily and put her hand on his collarbone just as she had done with Nate.

"Empty threats, Bass. All of them," she sighed. "You can't touch me anymore. If Nate doesn't work out, I'll find someone else. And if I don't, I don't very well care either. Nothing matters to me."

"And Serena?"

"She can join me or watch from the sidelines. I really don't care."

"What happened to you?" he asked, confused.

She laughed again. "You really don't get it, do you Bass? You can't conceive of a world where I am unable to resist your devilish charms."

He waited, his eyebrows furrowing, though he could feel his defenses coming up.

"I don't need—"

"Don't _need_ me?" she scoffed. "_Please_. You were all over me five minutes after you got back from vacation. What I failed to do was put you in the same place I had put Nate. Beneath me."

He smirked.

"And not in _that_ way," she retorted to his smirk. "Not anymore."

"Just what makes you think you'll succeed in this new game you've created?" he purred, closing the distance between them again and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Her alluring ruby lips formed the most dangerous smile.

"It's not a game, Chuck. The Blair you knew is gone."

She took his hands from around her waist and untangled them from her, stepping away and turning for the door before he could let her words sink in.

"Oh, and I lied before. I know the perfect place Nate and I can go to," she told him just before leaving. "I'm sure none of the places you would suggest would qualify. Can't have anywhere stained with your sin. I must make my own."

And then the door opened and closed after her and he was standing there wondering what the hell just happened.

…

Chuck pretended to be asleep for most of the night in case Nate returned to tell him of all the sex he and Blair had been having. All of it was in vain though, because Nate never returned. And he didn't call him the next morning.

Chuck felt sick.

He had no qualms about seducing Blair again. Though he had felt quite knocked down the night before when she gave her little speech. It was riveting watching her talk like that, and the way she dressed… he hadn't been so aroused since that first night at Victrola. All he could think of for a long time after she'd left was how fantastic the angry sex would be if he could just catch her sometime during the night.

But he didn't go after her. That would seem desperate. And she'd made it clear that she didn't care if Nate found out about them, while he still did. That wasn't right. She had to be bluffing. But there was no way to prove it without putting his own good standing with Nate at risk.

A Gossip Girl blast came, bringing him out of his thoughts only to confirm at least some of his fears.

Blair and Nate dirty dancing on the dance floor of some out of town bar. Another picture showed them making out. And still another one showed them leaving in a _limo_. She was doing this to torture him. She had to be. Nothing else made sense. He knew she still wanted him, and he wanted her. So what was the problem?

There was pounding on the door.

He went to it immediately, though his doubts told him it hadn't been light and striving to be normal like Blair's had been yesterday, so it probably wasn't her. He looked into the peephole and saw a fuming Serena on the other side.

He opened the door.

"Dear Sister—"

She stormed past him into the room.

"Blair! Are you here?" she called out.

His eyes narrowed and he closed the door behind her.

"She's not."

"Blair!" she called out, going into the bathroom and sliding open the shower doors.

"She's not here," he said again.

She came out, still fuming and poked his chest with her finger multiple times.

"Then where the hell is she?" she demanded.

"Not. Here," he repeated, grinding his teeth.

"Oh, I'm sure she isn't. Where are you hiding her?"

He rolled his eyes. "Look at the Gossip Girl blast. It's not me she's with. It's Nate. I detest dirty dancing."

She pulled out her phone and looked at it again, saw that the blast mentioned Nate, not Chuck, and looked back up at him.

"Doesn't mean you have nothing to do with this," she insisted, poking him again as she put her phone back into her purse.

He scoffed. "Believe me, the last thing I want is to see Blair doing what _she and I_ should be doing, not Nate."

"You just said you hate dirty dancing. What the hell is this?"

"I'd make an exception," he spat.

"Why? Do you love her?"

_Yes. Yes. Yes._

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Well then why are you acting like a jealous ex?"

"I'm not."

"Chuck."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Blair. I thought she was here."

"So you saw the blast and immediately thought she was with me? I told you I didn't want Nate to find out. Why would I risk being caught like that out in the open?"

The dots started to connect and Serena sighed, turning around to collapse onto the couch.

"I don't know. It just didn't make sense with how she'd been acting since I told her to get back together with Nate."

"Wait." He followed her over. "You told her to get back together with Nate?"

"Well, she made the initial decision, but after she did I told her to stick to it. I thought maybe she was just upset at what he'd done and if she gave him a real chance they could make it work and she would be happy again. And…normal."

"Blair has never been normal."

"You know what I mean."

"Well, it looks like you're getting what you wanted. Blair is clearly giving Nate another chance."

She groaned and laid her head back on the couch, closing her eyes.

"I didn't want it to be like this." She sat up and opened her eyes. "This is Blair out of control. This is Blair doing what _I_ used to do."

"Blair's not like you. This is probably just a phase." He shrugged.

"And how would you know?" she snapped.

"Because I know her better than—"

"What? Than me?" She stood to her feet. "I'm her best friend. What are you to her?"

He opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Nothing."

She stared him down and then looked away.

"That's obviously a lie."

"It isn't."

"Right. And you saying you could care less about her is the truth," she retorted, almost amused.

"It is."

"Oh Chuck, give it up. Admit to yourself you're in love with her and that all of this is your fault and maybe we can save Blair from this downward spiral before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?"

"Exams are next week and the SATs are two months away."

"It's a phase."

"A phase that won't end by Monday morning, and you know it. Not unless you intervene in some way."

"She's shut off her emotions. Nothing I say will break through that."

"Oh my god, Chuck, think. Blair will absolutely hate herself if after she gets out of this she realizes she failed her midterm exams. You know how much she studies for these things."

"She studies more than a week in advance. Just because this started—"

"And what if she skips school for another half a week? Or a whole week? Chuck, please, just, man up and tell her!"

"There's nothing to say."

"Chuck!"

"FINE!"

She waited, clearly on the verge of exploding.

"I loved her, okay? I did. But she betrayed me with my best friend and I realized that it was all a mistake."

"If it was a mistake you wouldn't keep trying to sleep with her. One night stands are your style, not serial monogamy."

He scoffed. "I am _not_ a serial monogamist. And why the hell are you being so open about all of this now anyways? Why do you care? Blair would kill you if she was in her right mind for being so invasive. And I know you don't give two shits about me."

She huffed and closed some of the distance between them, staring him down so intensely that he was almost intimidated by her.

"Because _Nate_ is the rebound guy. Not you."

His lips parted as she hefted her purse higher up on her shoulder and turned for the door.

"If you won't help me save her, I'll do it myself."

The door opened and shut and he was left as blindsided and puzzled as he had when Blair had done the exact same the night before.

….

A/N: Please R&R! =D And be gentle. Whether you liked the chap or not, there's no need to be cruel. You wouldn't like the same words to be said of your stuff. Will try to update soon, y'all! Thanks for reading! =P


	16. Dinner Fondling

A/N: My gorgeous reviewers, thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the support. More Nair in this upcoming chap I'm afraid, but it is merely a passing thing. Deep breaths, people. Trust me. =) Any future flames will be deleted if they are from guests and the user will be blocked if they are from members.

A HUGE THANK-YOU to **nlizette7** for helping me get my thoughts in order from here on out with the rest of this fic. Means a lot, hun! =)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.16—Dinner Fondling**

It was hard to counter his bitterness over what Blair had done and what she was doing with that little nagging voice in the back of his head that told him he would never forgive himself if he willingly let Blair crash and burn with the one thing she normally had some control over: her academics.

He didn't want to think he had a heart, Nate aside. He didn't want to think he cared one way or the other, again, Nate aside. And maybe his father. But no matter how much he wanted to deny it, just letting Blair sink into this self-destruct mode was going to haunt him. Reluctantly, he realized he would at least have to try to pull her out of it, even if it was as indirectly as he could manage.

He couldn't have her thinking he still cared after all.

Of course, as he should have predicted, Serena had other plans. He knew from the moment he got the call from his father that he should meet him, Lily, Eric and Serena at the new dance and fine dining restaurant downtown that something was up. He didn't need dear old dad to tell him who was behind the set up.

"Serena suggested it," he'd said.

And Chuck had rolled his eyes, because he could have told him that. After his recent conversation with her and no attempt to act on his part – even if it had been less than twenty-four hours – he knew she would take action and that she would pull him into it in the process.

This had _OPERATION: SAVE BLAIR_ written all over it. Number one because Serena hated his guts and the last thing she wanted to be was his step-sister, regardless if it would make her relationship with Humphrey less detestable. And of course number two, because Blair had come along as her guest and had brought Nate with her.

"I'll be there," he'd told his father, because if nothing else this was bound to be amusing.

…

The restaurant was decked out to the nines. There were two levels of seating and then a dance floor in the center. The sphere lights above each table glowed a soft blue, as did the lighting rounding the balcony railing and the slowly swirling shades on the dance floor. A band played slow, jazz music discreetly in the shadows beyond the floor, that apparently was sometimes used for performances and special entertainment.

Tonight though, it was jazz, perfect to dance to, as his father had no doubt intended for Lily. Just because Serena had suggested it didn't mean his father hadn't made special reservations. He was romancing Lily and Chuck decided it was real. He certainly showed more affection to her than he did to his own son, so it had to be. Regardless of what that meant about him, Chuck oddly found it encouraging because it was like he was being given his own safe haven, a real family. It took his mind off Blair and everything he should be thinking and feeling and acting, to save her but also to save his own skin.

That went out the window the second he saw her sitting at the table in a glittering little black dress that emphasized her curves and the updo that allowed little tendrils of brunette hair to drift around the nape of his neck.

He swallowed, and sat down beside her, because after stupidly coming late, it was the only spot left.

Bart quickly informed his son that Serena had invited Blair as her guest and since Nate was with her at the time, he came along too. Dan had been otherwise occupied. Chuck shot a glance at Serena who was looking semi-innocent at the direct hit. With how dazzled she was by Dan, Chuck knew she could have easily gotten him another seat or out of whatever was taking up his time tonight.

No, she needed a sensible setting – family dinner; and only the necessary people involved – family, herself, Blair and himself. He wondered if this was punishment for all the times he'd hit on her over Christmas when they'd learned their parents were going to be getting married.

Chuck could feel Blair's heat beside him and he knew this was never going to work. He would never be able to save Blair if he had to battle his lust and his irritation with her at the same time. Pulling out the friendship aspect that had once been a part of their relationship would be nearly impossible.

"Nate," Chuck addressed, looking past Blair, refusing to give her the attention he knew she wanted. "I haven't seen you in awhile."

Nate shot a sly smirk at Blair who also smiled, before looking back at Chuck.

"I've been occupied."

"We should hang out sometime—"

"Oh, I don't know—"

"_Catch up_," he emphasized, looking intensely at Blair even as he talked to Nate.

He saw Nate flinch and then take a sip of his champagne.

Chuck's brows furrowed at the exchange until he noticed Blair's arm moving slightly beneath the table.

"Yeah, man, that'd be great. After finals."

He cleared his throat and moved his own arm under the table, stilling Blair's. Blair pulled her hand out and grabbed a roll and a small package of butter from a basket near her plate. Chuck glanced around at everyone else at the table. They seemed absorbed in watching the people dance down on the dance floor, looking at their menu, or talking to each other. Chuck couldn't believe they were so oblivious. Blair was trying to get Nate off under the table.

It made him mad as hell because she'd never been so adventurous with him.

Then again, she'd never allowed for them to be public together.

That made him angry too, but it also made him hurt and, with a frown and unsuccessful scolding from his father, he ordered scotch from a waiter because he knew champagne just wasn't going to cut it.

He downed it in a second and asked for another one. He ignored the frown from his father this time and the concerned and surprised look from Lily.

"Exams," he finally said. "They're stressing me out."

"I didn't know you studied," his father said bluntly, and Chuck wondered if he had come to the conclusion that his son cheated on just about everything.

"I'm sure he studies," Lily said quickly, patting her fiancé's elbow to lessen his attacks.

Chuck forced a polite smile at the support.

"Unlikely," Blair said on a sardonic sigh, flipping through her menu lazily.

"You have to _study_ for exams, otherwise you're likely to fail them and lower your grade," Serena said absentmindedly, the reminder clearly meant for Blair and not her step-brother who was being ostracized.

"Yes," Chuck said. "And if you avoid taking the exams all together, you're likely to repeat the grade," he said casually, brushing his arm against Blair's as he reached for his own piece of bread and butter. "Excuse my reach," he murmured and she was forced to look at him for a brief moment.

Bart interrupted the tense moment with more of his frowning and direct disappointment.

"I do hope you aren't planning on skipping the exams this year, Charles."

Chuck addressed his attention back to his father, struggling with the battle waging inside him.

"Of course not, father. I never do."

Blair snorted.

Bart said nothing further but his expression said all it needed to: doubt – and probably some impatience over Blair's dinner manners. If Chuck wasn't using some method of cheating to get good grades, he was studying little and his grades showed it. On the assignments he did succeed in honestly his father never seemed to come by.

This was a horrible idea. He was going to refuse any requests from Serena in the future, step-sibling or not. "Saving Blair" was not worth this.

"I wonder what specials they have," Lily said brightly, looking enthusiastically at her menu and then at Bart, whose frown seemed to magically materialize into a smile.

The heavy load Chuck felt weighing him down ever since he sat down at the table, started to lighten.

"Why don't we ask?" Chuck suggested charmingly.

"I don't know why we should even bother. It's a new restaurant and it's got a distracting dance floor. I'm sure the champagne is the only good thing here and only because it has so much alcohol in it, you'll forget the whole damn night." She laughed, taking another sip of her champagne and apparently enjoying it.

"_Blair_."

The brunette glanced up at her scandalized best friend.

"What?" she asked innocently. "The place is clearly all atmosphere and no quality."

"_I_ picked it."

Chuck quickly signaled the waiter and Blair abruptly switched gears, smiling flirtatiously at the waiter when she ordered her meal, because apparently she had known it since before they sat down.

Nate cleared his throat and Chuck was slightly annoyed again. He'd felt the fluttering of the tablecloth hovering over his thighs. Blair was trying for it again.

_Restaurant Research_, she murmured to him, her hot breath in his ear for only a second before she redirected her attention to Nate. Chuck told the waiter he still needed to think but that more scotch would be great.

…

It was just after the entrees arrived that the real trouble started. He should have seen it coming, Chuck told himself. He should have seen it coming a mile away.

But somehow that little speech she had given him two days before gave him the impression she was done with him.

"That looks delicious," she said, when his plate finally lowered to the placemat in front of him.

He smirked. "Thanks, I—"

And she squeezed.

He cleared his throat, shaking himself from the sensation that couldn't have possibly been real. It was obviously driven from his hallucinating mind because jealousy was overriding almost all his other senses tonight.

"Thanks," he said.

"It makes me kind of wish I had gotten it," she trailed off, her hand moving from squeezing his upper thigh to smoothing down inward. He could feel her smile when he stilled his eating utensils because it was about the same time he realized he was starting to harden.

_Damn her and her arousal techniques._

He shook himself of her spell once again though and turned to her, grabbing her hand under the table in the process and placing it back on her lap.

"Maybe next time."

She took a sip of her water and shrugged. Then Nate noticeably stiffened and both Chuck and Serena's eyes went wide as they took in Blair's subtly sultry demeanor. Bart and Lily were chatting and eating. Eric was pretending to be oblivious, which was basically impossible since he was sitting smack between his sister and Nate.

Blair's hand was stilled again, just before Serena scolded her, and Nate relaxed. Chuck clenched his jaw when he felt her hand on him again, but this time she went straight to his long member. No creeping along his clothed thigh or moving in slow motion.

She closed her hand over him and squeezed.

Chuck drank some scotch. He could feel Serena watching him, but everyone else was looking elsewhere and honestly he was starting to lose focus when she started moving her hand up and down the length of him. He could almost feel how the skin-to-skin contact would feel. Or her mouth. Or the most delicious part of her body that would allow him to feel all of her pressed up against him, rising and falling, right here, right now, maybe at the table. That would be so…

"Stop!"

Chuck's eyes flashed open. Blair's hand stilled. And Serena, looking as flirty and vivacious as ever, signaled the waiter urgently to call him over to ask for some water, which much to her chagrin, she already had.

But the interference was successful. Chuck was back in charge. He wasn't however, able to hide the hard on she'd given him. He'd been very close and unless something was done about it he could be in some severe pain. Or he might just force Blair's hand on him, which would end in his cry of exaltation in the middle of a restaurant in front of all of these lovely people.

"Excuse me," he said, as soon as the waiter left. "I have to use the restroom." He got up and left, leaving Blair looking slyly after him and not more than a minute later, excusing herself as well.

Serena looked on disapprovingly, suggesting Nate go after her to which Nate was confused, because _why_ would he follow his girlfriend into the bathroom?

…

There was a knock at the door, to which Chuck groaned. Of all places, did someone have to use the private, one-stall bathroom?

"Busy!" he growled, returning the task of getting himself off. If he got enough peace and quiet and if he could imagine Blair on him, it was likely he could do this in less than five minutes.

There was a knock again. He decided ignoring it was the best course of action, but it came again and he stalled once more, frustrated.

"I'll be out soon! There is a multiple stalls restroom down the hall by the coatcheck!" he called out, wondering why he was being so helpful to whoever the anonymous stranger was that was pissing him off.

There was yet another knock.

"Son of a—" Chuck grumbled, thoroughly pissed off. He tucked himself back in, started to raise the zipper of his pants and stalked over to the door, ripping it open to glare at whoever was going to be number one on his hit list.

Blair was smiling pristinely at him from the other side of the door.

For a moment he couldn't speak.

"Blair," he finally said.

Her smile spread.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, trying to restrain his bubbling anger, especially now that he knew it had been her.

"Hmm," she pretended to contemplate. "No…not necessarily, but…" Her eyes lowered to the bulge far more visible up close in his pants. She reached out so she was just grazing it and she could see him visibly tense. "I think there's something I can help you with." She smirked, pushing him back into the bathroom, closing and locking it behind them.

"Blair, no. I…" he made a feeble attempt, his dick screaming at him at the golden opportunity and that he should just sit back and enjoy it. "Aren't you…"

"Shut up, Chuck and let me help you," she said, lowering herself to the tile floor and unzipping him. "I can't always be the tease I was on Friday, now can I?" her eyes twinkled up at him.

Before he had time to think through what her words meant, the air hit his dick this time for the second time, shivers racking through him. He closed his eyes in pleasure, because this time either her hand or her tongue would be touching him. The anticipation almost drove him to his climax right there.

"You're close, aren't you?" She smirked, letting one finger at a time gently glide along his long stiff member.

"You…You shouldn't…" he muttered, being completely cut off when she took his whole dick into her mouth and sucked. "Ohmygod." He groaned, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool bathroom wall.

Logic told him this wasn't a good idea, that this was wrong in every possible perspective of the situation. Logic was also fading in and out though. He would be pissed at both of them later. Right now he needed this release.

She sucked him up and down, pressing her nose against his skin. She swirled her tongue around him and kneaded his balls with her knuckles, causing a hissing sound to come out of him. When she pumped her hand up and down his dick so she could suck his balls underneath, he nearly lost it and she was just in time to move out of the way before he shot his creamy liquid onto the tile floor, breathing heavy.

After awhile, Blair returned to him, wiped him clean and tucked him back into his pants, zipping him up in a quick, efficient motion. Then she turned for the door, looking back only once.

"You're welcome, Bass."

Her eyes twinkled when she walked out the door, leaving him spellbound.

….

Bart and Lily were on the dance floor, as were Nate and Blair. Eric was MIA. And when Chuck returned to the table, Serena was sitting there, glaring at him before he even sat down.

"You didn't," she growled, clearly pissed off.

He sighed and casually took a sip of water.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

"You had sex with her, didn't you?"

He opened his mouth but said nothing.

"_Didn't_ you?" she demanded.

He raised his eyes to her at her raised voice and was borderline amused at how frazzled she looked even though every hair was in place.

"_I _didn't technically do _anything_."

She rolled her eyes, scoffed and sat back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest tightly.

"And I'm supposed to believe that."

"You can believe what you want, but I'm afraid your little friend dancing innocently with her boyfriend on the dance floor…took advantage of me."

"Ohmygod," she muttered, in disbelief. "I can't believe you're blaming this on her."

"She—"

"She's not in her right mind!" she shouted, composing herself somewhat when she was heard over the loud music playing down below.

His eyebrows narrowed. "Not my problem."

"It is your problem. That's why I made sure you came tonight."

He smirked. "And I did."

She scrunched her nose when she realized his double meaning.

"Ugh. Not what I meant."

He smirked and took another sip of water.

"Listen, Serena, I know you want to 'save Blair', but how about we just let this thing run its course? She seems to be doing perfectly fine to me."

"She just _cheated_ on her _boyfriend_," she emphasized.

"That's not my problem. I didn't egg her on. I even left the table. You can't blame me for this."

She huffed and through her arms about.

"Couldn't you have locked the door?" she demanded.

"I did. Her knocks were very persistent and I didn't know it was her. There was no saying no when I opened the door. Girl is a determined vixen when she wants to be." He smirked, glancing up at her dancing with Nate on the dance floor.

"I don't believe this," Serena muttered again.

"Believe it." He kept his eyes transfixed on the dance floor, relishing in his recent experience with his 'ex', but eventually Serena's disgust and his satisfaction began to wear off. A slow song had started and Blair was looking into Nate's eyes like he was the only person in the room.

Chuck shook his head, taking that as his cue.

"I think I've been here long enough." He stood up from his seat to leave.

"No, wait, Chuck! You can't just _go_."

"I can and I'm going to. Good-bye, Sis." He smirked. "I don't know what came over Blair tonight, but I give you at least half a guarantee I won't try to initiate similar events."

She looked at him helplessly, but he ignored her and left the restaurant. He paused one last time when Serena wasn't looking and watched Blair on the dance floor. Her arms were wrapped around Nate's neck with her head resting on his chest. It twisted Chuck's insides, but not just in the _I'm jealous as hell_ way. She was making eyes at the bartender too and a moment later feigning exhaustion to Nate so she could undoubtedly make her move.

Like the oblivious lost puppy he was, Nate accepted the explanation, got her a glass of water and disappeared. Chuck did not stay to watch more, but by the time he got home, Serena's feelings of concern had begun to resonate with him.

Tomorrow was Monday morning. And something told him Blair wouldn't be up studying all night.

…

A/N: I wanted to put more in but I feel like it would've gone on forever then. Heh. If you think I'm switching gears too much with Blair right now, deep breaths. She's on self destruct mode. She's off the charts. She's trying to keep her actions crazy and her emotions nonexistent. Plus, this is all only in Chuck's POV. I promise eventually Blair will make her agenda known. Heh.


	17. Plan Chuck

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! =D For those of you wondering where the heck the C&B from the beginning of the story went, no need to fret! They may be closer than you think. ;)

Another big thank-you to nlizzette7! You're one in a million, girl. ;)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

**Ch.17—Plan Chuck**

The first indication that something was wrong came to him when he opened his eyes at six AM and witnessed firsthand all the school textbooks laying strewn across the far end of his bed.

The second was the memory that he had spent the rest of the night _studying_ for exams today.

And the third was the annoying beeping sound telling him he had a multitude of texts and missed calls on his phone that he'd either chosen to ignore or been too far gone in this study zone – apparently – that he honestly hadn't noticed. He didn't know if either of those options were necessarily good.

To prevent himself from overanalyzing the fact that he'd studied for hours on end for the first time in probably his whole life since he came home last night, he picked up his phone and scanned the messages and missed calls.

As he should have known, they were all from Serena.

And that was when his heart stopped beating and he felt a cold sweat suddenly come over him. Because all the calls took place in the couple hours following when he'd left the restaurant, so he knew they were about Blair. He didn't have to read the texts or listen to the calls. But he did have to worry when he called her back and she didn't pick up, nor did she respond back with an angry text. The same had been true of Blair's phone when he'd hesitantly called and texted.

Serena had probably turned her phone off, irritated at him. He didn't like that, but not because his future step-sister not responding to him was annoying. It was because he knew she was with Blair and if neither of them were responding that something bad might have happened. That maybe Serena had called him for help because Blair had gotten herself into a situation so bad that…

Well, it just worried him. And it worried him that he was worried about it.

He shook his head and climbed out of bed, trying to avoid looking at the mass amount of study materials blatantly out in the open. Then he took a shower, telling himself Serena would call during his time under the hot spraying water and it would reassure him that the sudden pang in his stomach having nothing to do with hunger or drinking too much scotch had all been for nothing.

But Serena didn't call back and the image of Blair making eyes at the bartender while she danced with Nate the night before became fresh in his memory. There was something about that interaction that for a brief moment in time took him out of his anger at Blair and his determination to move past whatever they had been, to make himself believe and so make her believe that she meant nothing to him and that their situation just made it convenient for them to sleep together. It took a lot of energy and a lot of alcohol to block out the feelings that had flowed so brilliantly out of him when they had been together in secret, when all but love declarations poured from their lips and when he could take his time worshiping her body instead of just going in and doing the job because his erection needed relieving.

No, for that moment in time, and the whole way home – driving him to _study_, of all things – Chuck worried that Blair might not be okay.

He hadn't allowed himself to really dwell on how heartbroken she'd looked when he'd shut down his emotions in front of her after Cotillion that fateful night. The tears rolling down her cheeks as he said his cold goodbye, and then how very detached she seemed with Nate. He was still in a little bit of a denial, and he knew it'd be too late for them now even if he wasn't. No girl in her right mind would choose to be with him after what he'd put Blair through.

The incident at the pool came back to him and he wanted to kick himself. If it had been like before, he wouldn't have told her those things. Truth was, he'd never taken a girl there before. It had always been too risky and the girls were too skittish. From the moment Blair had told him about her access to the pool room though, he knew he wanted to end up there with her.

It was easy to think back on the experience but right now he couldn't seem to think about anything else. When he'd seen her walking into the pool room, he had just been able to sense that she was there for him and it gave him this amazing feeling of power. Like he wanted to claim her and yet punish her for what she was putting him through with Nate, both right after Cotillion and then coming back from Christmas break. It was clear she was just using Nate, which should've been enough incentive for him to go crawling back to her and beg for forgiveness. But he didn't do apologies and he certainly didn't admit to being wrong. That wasn't who he was. He was so close to having her again but it threatened to destroy who he was, his reputation. So, he had her, but he kept it dirty, like he would have done it before Blair Waldorf ever invaded his life with her burlesque dance and her seductive smile, stripping for him and leaving him completely undone.

But it was clear now that his little attempt to stabilize his inner battle had set her off and just made her lose complete control. It was unnerving that he could do that to a person, especially someone as in control, poised and powerful as Blair Waldorf. She was a force to be reckoned with and somehow he'd just created reckless havoc by trying to be the person he just really wasn't anymore. He couldn't shut off his emotions as easily as before and pretend he didn't care, though he'd made one hell of a go at it the past week. He'd never felt so full of guilt and shame as did now. The emotions rose up out of him and he couldn't seem to make them stop. He had been able to control them as they came out little by little before, but he'd shut them down for so long, and turned them cruel and hard when he was with Blair, that now that they were free…

He dressed and stalked over to the bar to pour himself a glass of scotch and drink it down, at 6:30a.m. If Serena wasn't going to answer her phone, he was going to track her down himself. If his intuition was right, and it usually was, Blair would be with her.

…

It was convenient having the future step-Basses just a few floors beneath him. Even more so when almost everyone looked to be gone and he had the talent of having snuck the master key long ago from one of the maids after he'd distracted them in his bed.

He gave her the chance to answer the door after he knocked twice. When she didn't come to the door and open it exactly ten seconds later, he pulled out the master key and looked inside. The lack of noise coming from the inside confirmed his suspicions that the residents were either gone or still sleeping. He checked his watch and realized it was only 6:45. He wasn't sure how early the van der Woodsens got up, but he was guessing they at least slept in till seven on a school day.

He walked down the hall checking under doors to see which was most likely to be Serena's. Totally at a loss, he knocked on one, softer this time. When no one came to greet him, he twisted the door handle gently and pushed it open.

Unsure what to expect, relief poured through him when he found Blair curled up on the bed next to Serena.

Everything was okay. Nothing bad had happened. And clearly Serena had kept her best friend from doing something stupid. At least he hoped so.

But there was still the matter of the exams Blair wasn't prepared for. And if she showed any of the attitude at school that she had last night and part of last week, making up the exams wouldn't be her only problem.

Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw movement on the bed, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to really consider it. When his name laced with some sleepy venom and confusion was spoken though, he knew his presence had become known; and not by the troubled brunette either.

He blinked, saying nothing, trying to adjust to the reality of himself in Serena's bedroom as much as she was. Without a word on her end either, she climbed out of bed, careful not to stir Blair in any way and stalked towards him on the other side of the room.

"Chuck?" She snapped her fingers when he just blinked a few more times, trying to come to terms with what to say. "Chuck." Finally he switched his gaze from blank nothingness to the slightly frazzled blonde in front of him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded in harsh whispers.

"I got your message."

Her eyebrows furrowed and then she crossed her arms across her chest.

"All twenty-five of them?" she dared.

"There were not twenty-five."

"Texts included there were," she insisted.

"Look, I was studying."

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?" she finally asked, unable to come up with anything better. Before he could respond though, she'd grabbed him by his arm and quietly dragged him out into the hallway outside their hotel suite, intent on speaking with him in more detail.

"Aren't you a little…chilly?" he purred, once he finally realized she was in nothing but a little nightie.

She refused to answer his question, even as she'd started to realize just how much cooler the hotel hallways were than the warmth inside her suite.

"Don't change the subject." His brows furrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you," he said. "I got your messages."

"How did you know to find me here?"

"You live here."

"Yes, but—"

"You mean how did I figure out you'd be here when you were clearly running around last night on mission 'Save Blair'?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Well?"

He sighed. "I guessed."

She pursed her lips tightly.

"Look, I'm here, aren't I?"

"Congratulations. As you can see, I don't need your help anymore. I was able to keep Blair from sleeping with a bartender, a waiter and a doorman, from taking drugs and from getting more wasted than she already was. It's a miracle I'm still in one piece with all the kicking and scratching I got from trying to take her away from her precious night on the town."

"Sorry I missed it."

She scoffed. "This is so typical. I don't even know why I bothered." She headed for the door, but he grabbed at her elbow before she could reach for the handle. She ripped it away. "I don't need your help anymore, Chuck. Besides, it wouldn't be genuine and the last thing Blair would want from you is charity. Not after what you put her through."

"I'm worried about her."

She scoffed. "How nice for you. When you show me your beating heart maybe I'll consider believing that was actually a genuine statement."

She tried to leave again but he grabbed her arm.

"Chu—"

"I'm not kidding around with you, _S_," he seethed. "No matter what happened between me and Blair, she's always been a friend. And there has to be a reason you called me and not Nate."

She pulled away again but this time she didn't try to leave.

"Nate didn't need to be involved," she said stiffly.

"And I did?" He sighed when she didn't respond. "Okay, I've been a jackass, agreed?" She nodded once, looking amused as she did it. "I'm sorry I didn't stick around last night, but you and I both know Blair is nowhere near ready for exams today."

She held her tongue for a long while and stared him down, but even she could see that he knew her decision before she did.

"I'm guessing you have some grand plan to fix all this?"

His serious, commanding expression shifted smoothly into a cheshire cat smile.

"Actually, I do."

…

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Serena sitting in a chair on the far wall. The next was the hospital gown she was adorned in, and the last was her phone, now on vibrate, that was going off on the table beside her.

She grabbed for it, and then downed the cup of water still sitting on the table after she'd read the Gossip Girl blast.

Serena held her breath as she waited for Blair's response.

"Can I assume you're responsible for this?" she snapped.

Serena visibly relaxed. _Old Blair was back._

"No," she said, standing to her feet and walking over. "But if I were you should be worshipping the ground I walk on, not cursing me out."

Her eyes narrowed. "And just why would I do that?"

Serena snatched her phone away. "Because now everyone thinks you have food poisoning, and you can have an extra day or two to study so you don't lose any credit on that perfect A+ record of yours. It'd be a shame if you got knocked off being Valedictorian just because you're acting out for no good reason."

Her jaw dropped. "I am not – it's not— where's Nate?" she demanded.

"At school," Chuck said, walking in. "With everyone else who thinks you're sick and not slacking off because Chuck Bass put you in your place."

Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" She turned her face to Serena and lowered her voice. "What is he doing here?"

Chuck allowed himself to smirk.

"I'm saving your sorry ass, so you don't regret everything you've done for the last few days for the rest of your life."

"_Chuck_," Serena warned.

"Why do you care?" Blair asked, glaring at him.

"Furthermore, it'd be in your best interest to do as I say or things might not be so easy for you once you decide to grace Constance with your presence again."

Her temper rising, she attempted to climb out of the bed.

"Of all of the—I don't care if I ever—I'm not just going to take orders from—" she muttered.

But just as she was about to successfully make it to her feet and walk straight out of that hospital room, she tripped over some of the machine's cords, knocked over the table that had held her water, thus spilling the liquid all over her and causing her to fall nearly to the ground, thoroughly humiliated with every moment since she opened her eyes.

But Chuck caught her.

For a moment, she thought she was in some sort of abyss between waking and sleeping, heaven and hell, in the arms of the ex-lover she loathed and loved, near humiliation and filled with fury and the determination to be anything but honest.

When she sensed Serena coming nearer, she pulled away from Chuck after he helped her to her feet. She refused to look at him.

"Serena, will you please get me out of here?" she asked far too sweetly. "I detest hospitals, as you both," she spared Chuck a glance, " should know."

Serena swallowed and stepped back, ready to follow through on her best friend's request. It seemed she was near the light at any rate.

"Don't," Chuck said before she was out the door. "Just go back to school. You need to take your exams."

"But, Chuck—"

"I'll deal with her," he said, looking only at Blair. "Just go."

Serena paused, and then said it before her judgmental self could stop her. "What about you, Chuck? You'll miss them too."

Blair scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Like he cares."

Chuck smirked, but there was hurt laced behind the expression.

"It's what Daddy Dearest expects of me. I can make it up tomorrow." Serena's mouth opened and closed again, torn somehow. "Go," he said again, and this time she went, despite Blair's cries for her to stay and not leave her alone with 'this monster'.

Once the door was closed, Chuck found himself in a glaring match with Miss Blair Waldorf.

"So what now?" she finally said. "You going to keep me locked up here all day, do what you like with me, curse me to yourheart's desire, humiliate me with more of your fake blasts?"

He laughed humorlessly. "That _fake blast_ is what saved you from getting less than an A on today's exams. Now I don't know what's gotten into you, but it can't possibly be worth sacrificing your future."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm talking about you getting drunk off your ass, trying to have sex with three different strangers and almost taking drugs last night when you should have been studying for exams."

"Thanks, _mom_. Anything else?"

He took a step towards her, completely invading her personal space.

"Is this about us?"

Suddenly her mouth went dry and her eyes widened.

"What?" she asked, her voice raspy.

"Is this about us?" he repeated. "You and me. Is this about how things ended between us?"

The gentle honesty in his voice was so different from his recent behavior that she didn't know how to take it. She had a feeling he was going to regret being this way later, much later, when he decided to be cruel again.

"Don't flatter yourself, Chuck. There was no us. It was just roleplay. You said so yourself. How could I be hurt by that? It was just a game."

Undaunted, he pressed on. "Then why are you acting like this? Like nothing matters? This isn't you."

"Maybe you don't know who I really am. Did you ever consider that?"

"I know you better than I know myself."

"And who do you think I'm acting like now, huh?" she dared. "Who sleeps around, slacks off, takes drugs, _drowns_ himself in alcohol?" she emphasized.

"Me?" he almost laughed. "You're pretending to be me? What – to get back at me?"

"If you're about to insult me, save it. I've had enough of your insults and your cold, heartless actions. I told you – _I don't care_. Turns out though being you is a freeing release and maybe I just wanted to try it out for once so I could see what all the fuss was about."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," he said quietly before she could announce her conclusion. For some reason the softness of his voice made her hesitate. The loudest silence rested heavily between them in the following few moments.

"Maybe over time it's not," she finally said, snapping out of the spell he'd put her under. "Right now it's just what I need. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

She tried to move past him, but he stopped her just as he'd done with Serena hardly more than two hours earlier and pushed her gently onto the bed.

"You're not going anywhere."

She scoffed. "Says who?"

"Me."

"You can't make me stay here."

"Relax, precious. You're not staying all day. I'm just going to go sweet talk your doctor into giving you a doctor's note that you can turn in whenever you're decent enough to go back in to school, so the exams you take late won't be counted against you. Then you can go home, and do try to look a little weak going in and out of buildings and cars so this will actually look legitimate, and study."

"You can't tell me what to do."

"I'm telling you what the real you would be telling you if she could be here right now. If Blair Waldorf sacrifices anything, it's not academics. Yale only takes the best," he paused, waiting to see if the words would sink in and she would understand; or if she was still as stone as ever and determined to rebel. "I'm sure you know that," he said, only a little satisfied when he saw the slight tremor on her bottom lip.

"Stay here," he said, turning for the door. "I'll be right back."

When he was gone and she was alone she contemplated her options. She didn't know what had flipped the switch in him, and she definitely didn't trust it, but there was something about his voice and what he was doing that made her think that she should agree to it. Shutting off her emotions didn't have to mean being stupid. Yale was her dream.

She heard the door open and she looked up, waiting to see who would appear. It was Chuck. And somehow he didn't look as daunting as he had before.

"The doctor's coming. Should just be a few more minutes."

She nodded and looked down. "Okay."

"Hey," he said gently and she looked up, wondering how she'd suddenly become so meek and non-threatening. "It's going to be okay. You're Blair Waldorf. There's nothing that can knock you down for long."

She blinked, trying to process as the words flooded through her.

"Now…pretend to look sick, will you? I'd like to not completely blackmail the doctor who's signing your get out of jail free card."

He winked and she smiled a bit. She didn't know where they stood but he was right about one thing, she was Blair Waldorf. When she wanted something, she got it. No boys or drama or heartbreak got in the way of what was really important. And nothing was more important than Yale.

…

A/N: Hope you enjoyed and that you're somewhat more at ease if you were panicking before. Heh. Again, thanks to the wonderful, nlizzette. =)


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